During a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting and a session of the NATO-Ukraine Council in Brussels, Ukraine emphasized the urgent need to strengthen its air defense to protect key energy infrastructure from Russian missile strikes.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said this at a meeting with journalists at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
“The agenda included the battlefield situation in Ukraine and intensified missile strikes by the Russian aggressor on energy infrastructure. It was a meaningful and substantive conversation. Following the Ukrainian president’s instructions, [Ukraine’s] diplomatic service is currently focused on strengthening Ukraine’s air shield, especially the protection of certain strategic facilities that are of particular importance for our energy system,” he said.
Sybiha noted that he had provided partners with detailed information about the consequences of such Russian strikes, particularly about Russia’s dangerous attacks on substations and other facilities that are part of the nuclear energy infrastructure.
“This is a great danger and a great risk, and not only for our country. Distance offers no protection. By attacking these facilities, Russia provokes a great risk of a nuclear incident with global consequences. Therefore, our request was clear and understandable – to provide an additional 20 systems to protect such specific facilities. I am talking now about the NASAMS, IRIS-T and HAWK systems,” Sybiha said.
He noted that Ukraine had already forwarded the relevant list of such air defense equipment to the countries that have these systems. Yesterday, during the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, its participants considered the potential delivery of these systems to Ukraine to protect specific facilities very quickly because time is critical. Ukraine will soon provide all necessary additional information in this regard to its NATO partners.
“I am grateful to Mark Rutte, the Secretary General, who focused a significant part of our discussion on this during the meeting. We are hopeful that these decisions will be adopted, and we are waiting for them,” Sybiha added.
A two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers concluded in Brussels. On December 3, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council was held at NATO headquarters in the format of a working dinner with the participation of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.