Zelenskyy: We need to work on joint air defense system, create effective air shield over Europe
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
“Of course, first and foremost, we discussed the Russian drones launched against Ukraine last night that also entered Polish airspace. Incidents with one or two Russian drones had already happened before in NATO’s eastern flank countries, including a few weeks ago in Romania. But this time the number of Russian drones was much larger, the brazenness much greater – the drones entered not only from Ukrainian territory but also from Belarus. And we all equally understand that this is a completely different level of escalation from Russia. There must be an appropriate response,” Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram channel following the conversations.
During the conversation, Tusk informed about the consequences and circumstances that have already been established. In particular, he reported that the wreckage of Russian drones, among which were also Iranian shaheds, was found in many towns and villages.
Zelenskyy stressed that the Ukrainian military has been transmitting all available information since last night, and the Ukrainian side continues this cooperation.
“There are several reasons for this brazen behavior of Russia, and they are absolutely obvious to everyone. We need to work on a joint air defense system and create an effective air shield over Europe. Ukraine has long proposed this, and we have concrete solutions. We must respond together to all current challenges and be ready for potential threats to all Europeans in the future. Likewise, we need to significantly increase joint funding for the production of interceptor drones. They have already proven their effectiveness,” the President stressed.
He offered Poland assistance, training, and experience in shooting down Russian drones, including shaheds.
“Donald and I agreed on appropriate cooperation at the military level. We will also coordinate with all NATO member states,” Zelenskyy summed up.