Ukrainian leaders have repeated their calls for Western allies to provide them with additional air defense systems and longer-range weapons following a string of Russian strikes on Monday.
Russia launched 75 missiles on Monday, 41 of which were shot down, the Defense Ministry said on social media. The strikes were reported in at least 10 areas of the country including Kyiv, the capital, which had largely been shielded from the brunt of the war. More than a dozen were reported dead and nearly 100 were injured, according to the New York Times.
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While U.S. and European leaders were quick to condemn the attacks and reiterated their support for Ukraine, it wasn’t clear whether any country would look to expedite their military aid packages.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media that he brought up Ukraine’s air defense capabilities in conversations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and President Joe Biden following the strikes.
“Productive conversation with [Biden],” Zelensky said of his conversation with the U.S. president. “Air defense is currently the number 1 priority in our defense cooperation.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba while Biden released a statement saying, in part, “Alongside our allies and partners, we will continue to impose costs on Russia for its aggression, hold Putin and Russia accountable for its atrocities and war crimes, and provide the support necessary for Ukrainian forces to defend their country and their freedom.”
The topic of Ukrainian air defense will likely come up this week while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is traveling to Belgium for the NATO Defense Ministerial and a meeting for the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
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The Pentagon announced in late September that it would be providing Ukraine with two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, also known as NASAMS, within the next two months, while six more were previously announced as “longer-term” deliveries. NASAMS are ground-based air defense systems created by Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace and Raytheon that defend against unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles.
Last month, in an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes, Zelensky thanked the U.S. for the NASAMS but warned, “It won’t be nearly enough in order to protect schools, universities, education infrastructure, hospitals, and medical infrastructure, and to protect homes of Ukrainians.”
