The European Union’s High Representative Josep Borrell emphasized the need for the EU to focus not just on rebuilding Ukraine but also on preventing further destruction.
Borrell’s statement referred to Ukraine’s request for seven Patriot air defense systems, as he said after speaking with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. In the interview published in the Washington Post on 10 April, Kuleba also discussed Ukraine’s need for at least seven of the 100 Patriot air defense systems the EU allies possess.
“It is inconceivable that we could not provide them, given that the Western armies have about 100 Patriot batteries. And yet we cannot provide the seven that they are desperately asking for,” Borrell said.
He said the best way to reduce reconstruction costs is to invest more in preventing destruction, stating, “Ukrainians have no way to avoid destruction because, frankly, we have to do more and faster to allow them to have the potential they need.”
The EU’s top diplomat also highlighted the need to address ammunition production capacity within the EU to achieve “the level of our ambitions in the field of security and defense,” as the bloc’s defense capabilities have historically been separate efforts by member states rather than a unified supranational plan.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized earlier the difficult situation in Kharkiv due to Russian missiles and drone attacks on the energy and electricity infrastructure, which caused power outages.
WP reported, citing Kuleba, that Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry found over 100 available Patriots that its allies have. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine needs 26 to create a total air shield over Ukraine, but “Kuleba is initially focused on obtaining seven as quickly as possible.”
“Kyiv had identified four other countries in Europe and Asia that have Patriots that could be transferred immediately to Ukraine,” Kuleba said.
However, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister said he “struggles to understand” the resistance from some countries to transferring at least one of their systems to Ukraine.
Read also:
- Borrell to EU: supporting Ukraine cheaper than dealing with its defeat
- Kuleba: Ukraine wants at least 7 Patriot air defense systems
- Russia attacks Ukraine with 82 air targets, hitting energy infrastructure in Lviv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia oblasts
