President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the top priority at the upcoming meeting in the Ramstein format will be to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence, including ballistic missile defence. He said this in his evening address on 9 April.
According to the President, Ukraine needs at least ten air defence systems capable of effectively countering Russian ballistic threats. American Patriot systems are best suited for this task.
‘We have spoken repeatedly with the American side, with everyone in Europe who can help. We look forward to a solution,’ Zelenskyy said.
The President also stressed that in just one day, Ukraine had declared an air alert several times due to the threat of ballistic missiles. In his opinion, there are enough air defence systems in the world to protect Ukrainian cities, but there is a lack of political will.
In addition, Zelenskyy reported on a meeting of the military cabinet with the participation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Hnatov, and Commander of the Land Forces Anatoliy Drapaty. They discussed the situation at the frontline, army supplies and the needs to stabilise the situation and continue active operations.