Metro Manila, Philippines – Several European Union countries have pledged additional air defense systems to Ukraine as Kyiv faces continued Russian attacks, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
Speaking after an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ireland, Kallas said Moscow had shown no sign of changing its objectives in the war, pointing to deadly Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital in recent days.
“Russian strikes on Kyiv again killed dozens in recent days. This makes it abundantly clear that Moscow does not want peace,” Kallas said, according to Ukrainian News Agency Ukrinform.
The EU’s top diplomat said the bloc was focused on strengthening Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, particularly against Russian aerial attacks.
“Through the Ukraine Support Loan, we have disbursed the first €8.47 billion. Another €6.1 billion has been approved, including for air defense. But this is not enough,” Kallas said.
She said additional bilateral assistance from individual EU countries was necessary, adding that several member states announced commitments during the meeting.
“We were pleased to hear today announcements by Member States to provide air defense that we have been so long asking for,” she said.
Kallas did not disclose how many interceptor missiles or air defense systems had been pledged, saying the countries involved would announce details of their commitments themselves.
She has also called on EU member states to provide Ukraine with interceptor missiles from their existing stocks as the country continues to defend itself against Russian attacks.
