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| Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Europe for support missile production technologies |
Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Europe and NATO to share missile production technologies with Ukraine, following Russia's large-scale response targeting Kyiv and other regions, in retaliation for attacks on Russian civilians.
Zelensky, expressing his frustration with the slow pace of Western support, said: "Europe must stop neglecting this issue (regarding the development of air defense systems). It must share technologies and industrial capabilities with other countries, because the Patriot system will never be enough for everyone," adding that he would ask the Europeans for more air defense systems during the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7 and 8.
Zelensky's remarks came after Monday night, when Russian forces launched an attack targeting six facilities and a warehouse in Kyiv and the region, as well as military airfields in the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkasy, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions.
Zelensky admitted that Ukrainian air defenses were unable to repel the Russian ballistic missile attack, citing the significant limitations of the Patriot systems, which were described as inadequate to counter the massive intensity of the Russian attacks.
This request comes hours after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called on NATO countries to transfer all Patriot air defense missile systems to Kyiv. These calls come as the summit in Ankara prepares to discuss a new military aid package for Ukraine, where the alliance is expected to announce $80 billion in new financial assistance for 2026 and a similar amount for 2027.
These developments come at a time when the Kremlin has declared, for the first time, that the conflict with Ukraine has turned from a special military operation into a "real war," accusing Washington, Berlin, Paris, The Hague and Oslo of actively participating on the side of Kyiv.
