Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky complained on Friday that his Western backers won’t shoot down Russian missiles and drones over Ukraine, which would mean direct NATO involvement in the war.
“If the allies shoot down missiles together in the sky of the Middle East, why is there still no decision to shoot down drones and missiles over Ukraine? Even when those drones fly towards the EU,” Zelensky said, according to POLITICO.
Back in April, the US directly intervened to intercept Iranian missiles and drones that were fired at Israel in retaliation for the Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus. At the time, Zelensky expressed envy for the US defense of Israel. On Friday, Zelensky said the West won’t even discuss the idea of shooting down Russian missiles and drones.
“When we raise this issue during the negotiations, the partners don’t even say they are working on it like they say about everything else … they just change the subject. They are scared to even tell us ‘they are working on it.’ And so far, only Belarus has been seen shooting down Russian drones,” he added.
Earlier this month, the Belarusian said that it shot down drones that entered Belarus’ airspace. Around the same time, NATO members Latvia and Romania said that Russian drones violated their airspace.
Some NATO countries are discussing the idea of shooting down Russian drones that enter their airspace. But what Zelensky wants is for NATO to shoot down any Russian missiles or drones fired at Ukraine.
