Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with his G7 allies (including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on screen) in Kyiv on October 11, 2022.
An “air shield” capable of protecting the Ukrainian people from Russian missile and drone attacks: this is President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s urgent request to his G7 allies on Tuesday, October 11, during a meeting of the leaders of the seven most industrialized countries Western countries, while Moscow-ordered bombing raids on Ukrainian cities continued during the day, particularly in Zaporiya and Lviv, where energy infrastructures were hit.
“If Ukraine receives a sufficient number of modern and effective air defense systems, the main element of Russian terror – missile attacks – will no longer work,” the Ukrainian leader said during the video conference after calling for new sanctions. This applies in particular to attacks by Iranian Shahed-136 drones, about 2,400 of which, according to Ukrainian intelligence, were ordered from Tehran by Moscow.
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“We condemn in the strongest possible terms these attacks and recall that indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians constitute a war crime,” G7 leaders said in a joint statement. Noting “the complicity of the Belarusian regime” in the conflict and condemning the annexation of Moscow-held territories, the allies also pledged to maintain their support for Kyiv “for as long as necessary”, including as part of the military plan to make Ukraine possible: “Defending their Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity”.
Even if the G7 did not explicitly adopt the air shield project, the idea is gaining ground in Western capitals. “As soon as they can, the Ukrainians are pushing in this direction with the countries that have the appropriate equipment, be it the United States, Germany or France,” says François Heisbourg, adviser to the International Institute for Strategic Studies of Eastern Europe. The Ukrainian authorities are therefore very unhappy that Israel, despite the experience of building its “Iron Dome” in this area, does not want to help them. »
Allies promise new shipments of weapons
Some allies have already pledged to supply Ukraine with anti-aircraft equipment. On Tuesday, Germany completed the delivery of one of the four Iris-T systems promised at the beginning of the summer. “The new series of rocket attacks on Kyiv and many other cities shows how important it is to deliver air defense systems quickly,” said Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht the day before. With a range of 40 kilometers, the Iris-T can destroy missiles and devices operating up to 20,000 meters. According to the German ambassador in Ukraine, a second battery is to be delivered before the end of the year.
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