US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin appealed to the allies to provide Ukraine with air defence systems. This is necessary to protect peaceful Ukrainians in winter.
The US called on its allies to transfer air defense to Ukraine
Therefore, now, when Ukraine will have to go through another winter in a state of war, I call on this group ("Ramstein" — ed.) to provide Ukraine with air defense equipment to protect its people, Austin said during his speech at the meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine (Ramstein format).
He recalled that just a few days before he visited Ukraine, which took place on November 20, Putin's forces launched a new flurry of rocket attacks on Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine, trying to damage the country's energy system.
Russian attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure could mean suffering and death for countless innocent Ukrainian citizens, Austin stressed.
But, as the minister noted, he is sure that the Ukrainian people will remain resilient in the face of difficulties because they are fighting for their future.
Russian strikes on the power system
Last winter the Russian occupiers repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian energy system. Massive strikes on infrastructure facilities began in October 2022 and continued throughout the winter.
As a result of such shelling, problems with electricity supply began throughout Ukraine. The authorities had to introduce daily blackout schedules.
But now Ukraine is actively preparing for repeated strikes this winter. In particular, energy facilities received three levels of protection against drones and missiles.
