President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Ukraine's international partners to provide the country with additional air defense systems in order to deprive Russia of its "main instrument of terror"— missile strikes.
"Dear partners, by helping us to fully protect our skies, by providing us with modern air defense systems in sufficient quantity, you can deprive the terrorist state of its main instrument of terror. This will be one of the most powerful steps to bring the end of aggression closer," Zelensky said in his evening address.
Zelensky said that he believes Russia will be forced to end its aggression against Ukraine if it can no longer conduct mass missile strikes.
Russia launched its seventh mass missile strike against Ukraine on Dec. 16, firing a total of 76 cruise missiles at targets across Ukraine, according to Ukraine's air force. Sixty of these missiles, a mix of Kh-555, Kh-101, and Kalibr cruise missiles, were shot down by Ukrainian air defense.
