Ukraine Allies Push Air Defense to Save Ukraine – In a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledged to assist Ukraine in establishing an effective and varied air defense system made up of various pieces of Western anti-missile technologies.
The United States officials also called on other allies to “chip in” what they can to create a mix of air defenses that can protect Ukrainian civilians in the event of another round of indiscriminate bombing from Russian forces.
In the roughly hour-long meeting, which was attended by representatives of more than 50 countries, the U.S. officials promised to supply more munitions and air defense systems to Ukraine. Austin also confirmed in a press conference at NATO headquarters on Wednesday that the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, as the meeting is known, had discussed multiple ways to improve the training of Ukrainian forces.
Austin said that allies will galvanize industrial bases to “fire up production for the systems to defend Ukraine” while meeting domestic security needs at the same time.
Stoltenberg Agrees on Air Defense
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also stressed the importance of assisting Ukraine in building an effective air defense system.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Stoltenberg described how NATO defense ministers had met to discuss the “most serious escalation of the war since the invasion in February.” He noted that Russia has already begun mobilizing tens of thousands of new troops, and that at a meeting with Ukrainian Defense minister Oleksii Reznikov he would pledge “steadfast” support to Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”
Stoltenberg said that allies have already provided air defense systems, but that more were urgently needed in Ukraine.
“We need different types of air defence: short range, long range, air defence systems to take ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, different systems for different tasks and then of course, Ukraine is a big country, many cities, so we need to scale up to be able to help Ukraine defend even more cities and more territory against the horrific Russian attacks against their civilian populations,” he said.
Ukraine Already Seeing Some Victories
The shift towards providing air defense systems to Ukraine, after months of focusing heavily on medium-range missile systems and howitzers, comes as Ukraine shows a growing capacity to intercept Russian missiles, drones, and aircraft.
One video from Vinnytsia Oblast shared this week shows a Ukrainian fighter aircraft successfully intercepting a Russian kamikaze drone. The footage, recorded from the ground, shows the Ukrainian aircraft launching a rocket at the airborne drone.
Ukrainian fighter aircraft intercepts Russian Kamikaze drones over Vinnytsia Oblast#Russia #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/hGxiEu5o93
— BlueSauron?️ (@Blue_Sauron) October 12, 2022
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian Air Force also reported that four Russian helicopters were downed in a space of 18 minutes.
⚡️ Ukraine downs 4 Russian helicopters in 18 minutes.
Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile units shot down at least four Russian attack helicopters (presumably Ka-52) in southern Ukraine from 8:40 a.m. to 8:58 a.m. on Oct. 12, Ukraine’s Air Force reported.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) October 12, 2022
The Kyiv Independent reported how Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile units successfully shot down at least four of the Russian aircraft, probably Ka-52s, in southern Ukraine between 8:40 am and 8:58 am local time.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
