NATO countries to give more air defence systems to Ukraine, says Stoltenberg

NATO allies, on Friday (Apr 19) agreed to provide Ukraine with additional air defence systems, said the alliance’s chief Jens Stoltenberg after a special meeting of defence ministers of the member countries, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Additionally, Group of Seven (G7) countries’ foreign ministers also said that they are determined to bolster Ukraine’s air defences after Russia has ramped up strikes in recent weeks.

NATO allies pledge

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“In addition to Patriots, there are other weapons that allies can provide, including (the French system) SAMP/T and many others, who do not have available systems, have pledged to provide financial support to purchase them for Ukraine,” the NATO chief told reporters in Brussels.

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This comes as Germany said that it would hand over one Patriot missile battery to Kyiv and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on other countries to follow suit.

Zelensky told a virtual meeting of NATO defence ministers that his country needs a "minimum" ofseven Patriot air defence systems and saidthe alliance should decide "whether we indeed are allies".

"It is obvious that now, while Russia has air advantage and can rely on its drone and rocket terror, our capabilities on the ground, unfortunately, are limited," said the Ukrainian president.

G7 vows to bolster Ukraine air defence

The G7 will “bolster Ukraine’s air defence capabilities to save lives and protect critical infrastructure,” said the foreign ministers in a statement which came after a three-day meeting in the southern Italian island of Capri.

The statement also said that they would increase defence and security assistance for Kyiv and that they are “determined to continue to provide military, financial, political, humanitarian, economic, and development support to Ukraine and its people.”

The statement was also fiercely critical of the Russian invasion of Ukraine which has been going on for more than two years now. Ukraine has said that it is running out of weapons to shoot down Russian missiles and drones as Moscow has ramped up attacks on infrastructure in recent months.

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Kuleba, told reporters in Capri that the G7 had identified specific steps to help boost Ukraine’s air defence. However, he did not give any further details.

Lack of funds

Britain’s Foreign Minister David Cameron also urged G7 allies to be “creative” in using Russian assets, which have been frozen since the invasion in 2022, to help Ukraine.

Military aid to Ukraine has slowed down in recent months, with the war-torn country’s European partners running low on ammunition and the Republicans in the United States Congress blocking funding to Kyiv.

The statement also said that they will work to explore all avenues and options ahead of the G7 Apulia Summit in June to use Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine which is “consistent with our respective legal systems and international law”.

Amid the slowdown in funding the West is looking for ways to use profits from some $300 billion of sovereign Russian assets held in their countries to help Ukraine.

Russian airstrike in Dnipro

At least eight people, including two children, were killed after a Russian airstrike in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, on Friday, said the Ukrainian officials. Kuleba said a 14-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy had been killed during the attack.

Missiles rained down on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro and the surrounding region in the early hours and a trail of destruction in its wake. According to regional officials, the strike damaged residential buildings, and the main train station and wounded at least 28 people.

Also Read |Over 25 injured in Russian strikes in Dnipropetrovsk region

Russia has ramped up its long-range assaults across Ukraine prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to call for urgent supplies of air defences from the war-torn country’s allies in the West.

For the first time since the beginning of the invasion, Ukraine’s air force commander and military spy agency said they shot down a Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber that had fired missiles at Ukraine during the overnight attack.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 15 missiles, including two Kh-22 cruise missiles and 14 drones overnight. Governor Serhiy Lysak said that air defences in the Dnipropetrovsk region shot down 11 out of 16 missiles and nine out of 10 drones.

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(With inputs from agencies)