FM: Shooting down missiles or drones will not lead to partners' participation in war

This was stated by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with Politico on the eve of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers, Ukrinform reports.

“I don’t question the willingness of Poland to build up defensive mechanisms, they cannot do it on their own. We need partners to support them on this. The argument that this would make some of them party to the war is void. You don’t enter the war by shooting down a missile or drone that flies in your direction and may actually inflict damage on your own territory,” the head of Ukrainian diplomacy said.

Kuleba noted that Ukraine wants neighboring countries to shoot down aircraft in Ukrainian airspace as well. This was discussed by President Zelensky with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO summit in Washington, and Kyiv has been working on this through military and diplomatic channels since then.

“But it’s time to make a decision. You’ve seen just recently how bad Russian missile and drone attacks have been,” the minister emphasized.

The Foreign Minister also wants to stimulate direct purchases of weapons from Ukrainian manufacturers in order to provide Ukraine with them in the most favorable way.

Asked about the successful test of Ukraine's first ballistic missile, Kuleba said that the development of new weapons helps to feel more confident, but these successes should not serve as an excuse for partner countries not to supply similar weapons to Ukraine.

“The scale of this war and the sacrifice we’re making has proved that we can succeed only when we act together,” he warned.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Minister Dmytro Kuleba is on a working visit to Belgium on Thursday, where he will take part in an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy is seeking support in Brussels for lifting restrictions on long-range strikes on military targets in Russia.

Photo: MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS