The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, reacted to another mass missile attack by the Russian Federation on April 11. He urged countries to provide more Patriot systems.
Kuleba called on allies to give Ukraine more Patriot
He said that Russia fired more than 80 missiles and drones over Ukraine overnight, mostly at critical civil infrastructure facilities.
Six of them were ballistic missiles.
Ukraine remains the only country in the world facing ballistic strikes. There is currently no other place for "Patriots" to be. I am confident that if those on whom their provision to Ukraine depends spent at least one night in Kharkiv, all necessary decisions would have been made quickly. And I would be ready to go together with them.
Dmytro Kuleba
Ukrainian MFA chief
How much Patriot does Ukraine need?
In an interview with The Washington Post, Kuleba said that Ukraine hopes to receive at least 7 Patriot batteries "as soon as possible" from partners and allies.
Kuleba's team found 100 available Patriots — certain neighbouring countries have more than one battery protecting an airport or port. Kuleba also expressed disappointment in the lack of reaction to Ukraine's request.
I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall, even though I'm a diplomat, which means I have to dismantle the wall brick by brick. But since that kind of diplomacy doesn't work, I want to hit the wall. I just don't understand why it doesn't happen.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that for complete protection of Ukraine, it is desirable to have 25 Patriot systems with 6-8 batteries each.
Zelenskyy emphasised that Patriot analogs would also suit Ukraine: "There are several in the world, they also work very well."
