NATO members are discussing sending some of their air defense systems to Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a press conference after the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers meeting in Capri on April 18.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with Germany's Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck during the latter's visit to Kyiv on April 18.
There are six additional Patriot systems in NATO countries that could be delivered to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on April 18 following a Special European Council summit in Brussels.
Robert Habeck, who is also Germany's economy and environment minister, was accompanied by Helmut Rauch, the head of Germany's Diehl Defense company that manufactures IRIS-T air defense systems.
"We have Patriots, we have anti-missile systems. We have to take them (out) from our barracks where they are just in case and send them to Ukraine where the war is raging," Josep Borrell told reporters after a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers meeting on the island of Capri.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte offered on April 17 to buy Patriot air defense systems from more hesitant allies in order to send them to Ukraine, The Guardian reported.
A NATO-Ukraine Council meeting to discuss supplies of air defense systems will take place on April 19, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on April 17. President Volodymyr Zelensky requested the gathering earlier this week.
Berlin has already appealed to EU and NATO partners as well as other unspecified countries, as Russia's intensifying aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities continue to highlight the growing shortage of sufficient air defense systems.
"Three days ago in the Middle East, we saw what reliable protection of human lives from missiles looks like," Kuleba said.
The question of why Western countries cannot defend Ukraine's airspace in the same way they did for Israel is "well-founded," but the two situations "cannot be compared," Josep Borrel, the EU's top diplomat, said on April 16.
U.S. planes will not be flying over Ukrainian skies to engage with Russian attacks, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press conference on April 16.
Ukraine will send a request to convene a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine council to discuss the defense of Ukrainian skies and supplies of air defense systems, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his evening address on April 16.
After six grueling months, the U.S. House of Representatives may finally be preparing to vote on a new aid package for Ukraine. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on April 16 that following new rounds of talks with House Republicans, he planned to advance three separate aid packages for Ukraine,
Key developments on April 16: * Zelensky: Russia destroyed key power plant near Kyiv since Ukraine 'ran out of missiles' for its defense * Source: Ukraine strikes Russian modernized long-range radar system in Bryansk Oblast * Bloomberg: Russia does not have capability to launch offensive on Kharkiv * Zelensky signs mobilization bill * Scholz says
Mobile firing groups shot down the drones over Kherson, Mykolaiv, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava, Cherkasy, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.
Key developments on April 15: * Deploying jets to protect Ukraine would lead to escalation, UK foreign secretary says * Source: Ukrainian forces hit command post in Russian-occupied Crimea * Netherlands, Germany, Canada to send drones to Ukraine * SBU: Ukraine's modernized sea drones can carry 1 ton of explosives over 1,000 kilometers
Deploying Western fighter jets to protect Ukraine from missile strikes, as was done for Israel on April 14, would lead to "dangerous escalation," U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on air on April 15.
Key developments on April 13-14: * Syrskyi: Russia set a goal to capture Chasiv Yar by 'Victory Day' on May 9 * Syrskyi: 'Situation on eastern front has significantly deteriorated in recent days' * Germany to send additional Patriot air defense system, missiles to Ukraine * Russia claims 10 Ukrainian drones downed in Krasnodar
Ukraine is in negotiations with Germany to secure an additional IRIS-T air defense system, as well as missiles for existing air defence systems, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his evening address on April 13.
Berlin will provide Ukraine with one more Patriot air defense system amid intensified Russian attacks, the German Defense Ministry announced on April 13.
"Russian forces have reportedly launched Kh-69 missiles from 400 kilometers away from their targets, exceeding a previous estimated range of 300 kilometers and the 200-kilometer range of the most recent Kh-59MK2 variant."
Ukraine is conducting "active negotiations" with its partners to receive two additional batteries of the Patriot air defense system and one long-range SAMP/T anti-aircraft missile battery, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an excerpt from an interview aired on April 12.
The Trypillia Thermal Power Plant in Kyiv Oblast can be restored with international help but this will be "futile" without more air defense, Andrii Hota, the chair of Ukraine's state energy company Centerenergo's supervisory board, told Voice of America on April 11.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said he has discussed the transfer of Soviet-made missiles for air defense systems to Ukraine with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky while meeting in Lithuania at an international summit on April 11.
The European Parliament on April 11 refused discharge of the EU Council's budget until European leaders decide to support Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense systems, MEP Guy Verhofstadt said.
The need to redistribute Ukraine's already thinning air defense systems to protect heavily targeted cities such as Kharkiv may lead to routine Russian attacks on rear logistics and cities in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in their April 10 report.
Ukraine aims to obtain an additional seven Patriot air defense batteries as soon as possible and has offered countries to loan the systems to Kyiv, Kuleba told the Washington Post (WP) in an interview published on April 10.
General Christopher Cavoli said that Russian forces were firing five shells for every one shell that Ukraine fired, a disparity which he warned could increase to 10 to one in coming weeks.
The State Department has approved an urgent $138 million foreign military sales package for Ukraine, enabling essential repairs and the procurement of spare parts necessary for Hawk missile systems.
As Russia increased its attacks, the shortage of air defense systems in Ukraine became more tangible.
Ukrainian recent attacks increased pressure on Russian air defense systems, leading to Russia likely shooting down its own planes, the U.K. Military Intelligence's report said on April 6.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview for national television on April 6, called on international partners to provide Ukraine with modern air defense systems to defend against Russian attacks.
