The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, noted that his main message at the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council at the level of heads of foreign affairs will be the Patriot air defence system.
Kuleba will call for giving Patriot to Ukraine
Kuleba said this during a conversation with journalists and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after arriving at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels.
I don't want to spoil the birthday celebration (NATO—Ed.), but my main message today is Patriot. Patriot's reliability is crucial for saving Ukrainian lives, cities, and the economy.
Dmytro Kuleba
Ukrainian MFA chief
Kuleba added, "We are talking about Patriot because it is the only system that can shoot down ballistics. In March, Ukraine was fired with 94 ballistic missiles."
But providing Patriot depends on allies. They have plenty of them. So, this will be my main focus today, and I am looking forward to the discussion I will have with the allies, emphasised the diplomat.
The minister also mentioned the Russian attack on Kharkiv on the night of April 4.
Only today dozens of drones were directed against the city of Kharkiv, four people were killed. These attacks are carried out in the most brutal way. A second wave of drones followed the first and killed rescue workers who arrived on the scene to save the victims of the first strike.
How much Patriot does Ukraine need?
The day before, Kuleba said that Ukraine needs five to seven Patriot systems, which is the minimum amount.
The partners have provided us with their various air defense systems, we appreciate that, but it is simply not enough given the scale of the war.
The minister noted that there are more than 100 Patriot systems in the allies' arsenals.
President Zelenskyy stated that 10 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems "would radically change the situation" in the war.
