Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has underscored the importance of bolstering Ukraine’s air defense capabilities to deny Russia control of the skies, ultimately weakening the enemy’s influence on the battlefield.
Zelenskyy stated that on 7 January during an online conversation with participants of the annual Swedish national conference “Society and Defense,” according to the President’s website.
The Ukrainian President said the situation at the front today is rather stable, although Russia continues to concentrate its troops and loses a lot of soldiers in its infamous “human wave attacks.” However, Ukraine requires additional air defense systems to strip Russian forces of their capacity to dominate the airspace and carry out aerial attacks on Ukrainian positions:
“There is a lack of air defense both on the battlefield and for the defense of Ukrainian cities across the country. There were 500 strikes within a few days. Yes, we managed to repel most of them thanks to the help of our partners – more than 70%. But this is not enough. If Russia loses control of the sky, it will lose all its power on the battlefield. They have no other power: we do not see it,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Read also:
- ISW: Ukraine bypasses Russian air defenses in Russia-occupied Crimea
- Slovakia’s President Čaputová calls on allies to send Ukraine more air defense systems
- UK Defense Minister announces “hundreds of air defense missiles” for Ukraine
- Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems prove highly effective, Zelenskyy says
