Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday 7 July called on Europe to develop its production capacities for anti-ballistic systems.
“Europe urgently needs to develop its own production capacities for anti-ballistic systems and the related missiles”, the President stressed in a speech delivered at the Defence Industry Forum in Ankara. “This protection is needed now, not in a few years’ time”, he warned.
In his view, building strong defence against Russian ballistic missiles is a “major challenge”. “This is Russia’s last major trump card and, as we have seen during the wars in the Middle East, an issue of global importance”, Mr Zelensky explained, recalling that the current conflicts had shown that current US production of Patriots was insufficient to meet the growing demand for protection against this type of missile. He also called on the Allies to support Ukrainian efforts to obtain from the Americans production licences for Patriots in Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky argued for more air defence missiles, his “absolute priority”. “We are capable of doing everything ourselves, but when it comes to air defence, we need the determination of our partners”, he insisted. The President said he hoped that “greater determination and firmer decisions” on air defence would be one of the main outcomes of Wednesday’s NATO Summit.
While Ukraine needs help on air defence, the President highlighted his country’s skills in the field of drones. “Today we have the largest and most advanced drone warfare capability in the world. We are making this capability available to our partners under the drone initiative. This is not only about buying drones, but also about co-producing, gaining accelerated access to means of protecting critical infrastructure, air defence and, of course, security cooperation”, he explained.
These skills make Ukraine, according to Mr Zelensky, a perfect candidate to become a member of the Alliance. “A NATO with Ukraine is the Alliance of the future”, he said. “Do you really believe it would be right for a country and a people with such a level of defensive capabilities to live outside NATO?” he asked. “If we already possess these capabilities, if Ukraine already has experience of combat at this level, then it is logical for these capabilities to be integrated into the Alliance’s collective defence”, he added. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)