Zelensky urges U.S., Europe to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses as Russia prepares another strike

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine says Russia will try to launch another missile strike as soon as they are ready, which is why the agreements on the supply of air defense systems, including those reached at the NATO summit in Washington, have to be executed in full.

The head of state of Ukraine spoke in a video address to the summit of the countries participating in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), seen by Ukrinform.

This military partnership unites the UK, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, tasked with ensuring a rapid response to crises and running expeditionary operations.

“Last Friday night, the Russians launched a massive missile attack on our energy infrastructure. They waited for the cold weather to strike. There were 94 missiles and nearly 200 attack drones in this strike. Fortunately, we managed to defend ourselves. But we know, this is just a pause, and Russia will try to strike again as soon as they are ready. They always do this. That is why we need a reliable guarantee of protection against air terror, and this means having enough air defense systems,” Zelensky said.

In this context, he noted that Ukraine needs the full implementation of agreements on the supply of air defense systems, in particular those reached at the NATO summit in Washington.

“We remember that, to compensate for the inability to invite Ukraine to join the Alliance at that stage, a significant number of air defense systems were promised to us. And I ask for your help to deliver on this. And between us, frankly, our partners know that we need 12 to 15 more systems to fully protect our country from Russian missile strikes. It’s doable. The main thing is our partners’ political will. And I am specifically addressing the United States first of all and Europe, of course," the President said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on December 10, during a Kyiv meeting with the head of the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, Iratxe Perez Garcia, Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine needs an additional 10 to 12 Patriot systems to protect its sky, ensure life, and make the war meaningless for Russia’s Vladimir Putin.