Earlier, no one but Ukraine would talk about the possibility of supplying the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile systems to Ukraine, but now a “very serious and substantive discussion” is taking place, noted Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba in his video comment published on Facebook after his participation in a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Bucharest on 30 November.
NATO to help repair Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, protect Ukraine from Russian missile strikes
Also, Kuleba said that the NATO ministers have announced more contributions to Ukraine at the meeting:
“Transformers, generators, weapons, winter uniform. I cannot voice them all but, among these positions, there are 155-mm artillery, ammunition, armored vehicles. All of this will soon arrive in Ukraine and strengthen our armed forces,” Ukrinform reports.
“Since the outset of the [all-out] war, each new battlefield tragedy has led to an overwhelming decision to provide Ukraine with the weapons it has requested. This must be changed. Decisions must be made before a tragedy occurs. In order to prevent tragedies, not to respond to them,” Kuleba emphasized in his speech at the meeting, according to Suspilne.
Poland asks Germany to send Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine
On 29 November, the first day of the two days of meetings of NATO foreign ministers in Bucharest, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said:
“We need air defense, IRIS, Hawks, Patriots, and we need transformers,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Bucharest, according to DW. “If we have transformers and generators, we can restore our energy needs. If we have air defense systems, we can protect [ourselves] from the next Russian missile strikes. In a nutshell: Patriots and transformers is what Ukraine needs the most.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO must not waver in its commitment to Ukraine and “continue to stand for Ukraine as long as it takes. We will not back down.”
The Bucharest meeting’s final statement by NATO foreign ministers reads,
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. We will never recognise Russia’s illegal annexations, which blatantly violate the UN Charter. We will continue and further step up political and practical support to Ukraine as it continues to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and our shared values against Russian aggression, and will maintain our support for as long as necessary.”
Read also:
- NASAMS and Aspide air defense systems already in Ukraine
- “I am convinced that the time for ‘Patriots’ has come” – Ukrainian FM
- Western fear of arming Ukraine holds back its victory – military expert (April 2022)
- Ukraine’s unanswered plea for MiG29s: consequence of NATO’s fear of Article 5
