““We need a reliable guarantee of protection against air terror, and that means having a sufficient number of air defense systems,” the president said”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
Zelensky also recalled Russia’s massive missile attack on Ukrainian energy last week. He pointed out that Moscow was waiting for the cold weather to launch this attack.
“Fortunately, we managed to defend ourselves. But we know: this is only a pause, and Russia will try to strike again as soon as it is ready. They always do that. That is why we need a reliable guarantee of protection against air terror, which means having a sufficient number of air defense systems,” he said.
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Zelenskyy called for the full implementation of agreements on the supply of air defense systems, including those reached at the NATO summit in Washington:
“We remember that as compensation for the impossibility of inviting Ukraine to the Alliance at that stage, we were promised a significant number of air defense systems. I’m asking for your help to get it done.”
The president also added that the partners know that Ukraine needs 12-15 air defense systems in addition to those already promised. He expressed his belief that “this is real”, referring primarily to the United States and Europe.
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Zelensky urged partners to “stick together,” saying Russia will continue to escalate its threats as long as it can afford to. He also stated that Ukraine is ready “for greater interaction and joining the JEF as a member.”
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that December 13 was one of the largest strikes on the energy sector, when the Russian Federation carried out its last massive missile attack.
It was reported about the Russian attack on the objects of critical infrastructure in the Carpathian region and the Lviv region. In Ternopil Oblast, an industrial facility was damaged by a rocket strike, and a large-scale fire broke out.
According to the Ministry of Energy, since October 2022, Russia has carried out more than a thousand strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities, this year alone 9 GW of generating capacity was lost due to strikes.