During an interview with Politico, Ukraine’s top diplomat demanded that the West send Kiev more missile defense ammunition. The official said Ukrainian forces were losing ground due to insufficient ammunition. While President Joe Biden promised that the West would support Kiev for as long as it takes early in the war, members of NATO are now struggling to find arms, funding, and political support to continue fueling the Ukrainian war machine.
In the interview published on Monday, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba demanded, “Give us the damn Patriots,” referring to the American-made Patriot air defense system. The diplomat claimed the lack of arms was leading to more successful Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities.
“If we had enough air defense systems, namely Patriots, we would be able to protect not only the lives of our people, but also our economy from destruction,” he said. Over the past week, Russia has launched several rounds of strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure that severely affected the energy grid. Washington previously warned Kiev that targeting Moscow’s energy facilities would lead to retailing against civilian targets in Ukraine, as well as driving up global oil prices.
As Ukrainian forces are losing ground in the country’s east, Kuleba argued it was due to a lack of air defense systems near the front lines to shoot down Russian planes. “When Ukrainian troops are losing positions, let’s look at the reason why. It is because Russia has began to massively use upgraded aerial guided bombs.” He continued, “You cannot jam it. It just falls on your head and destroys everything. This is how we’re losing positions, and the only way to prevent this is to shoot down the planes carrying the bombs. We need air-defense systems on the frontlines.”
During the first three months of 2024, Washington has provided Kiev only a limited amount of weapons. This is because Congress has not passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill that includes $61 billion for Ukraine. However, even if the House approves the legislation, the Western arms industry still faces significant production shortfalls.
Early in the war, the US and UK pressed Ukrainian President Zelensky to forgo a deal with Moscow that would have led to Russian troops withdrawing to lines they held before the February 2022 invasion. Washington and London pledged the North Atlantic alliance’s military support for Kiev would last “as long as it takes.”
Choosing to fight with the West’s backing has proven disastrous for Kiev. Over the past two years, Moscow has annexed and cemented four eastern regions of Ukraine that President Putin is unwilling to return to Kiev.
