CAPRI, Italy: Ukraine on Thursday urged foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) to change their strategy if they want Kyiv to withstand Russian air attacks.
The G7 ministers meeting held in Capri acknowledged the need to provide strong air defense systems to Ukraine and praised Foreign Minister of the country Dmytro Kuleba as he joined them on the second day of the summit.
The G7 group, comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, and European Union representatives, has been quite critical of Russia’s two-year war against Ukraine.
However, military assistance to Ukraine has slowed in recent months, with European allies running low on arms and vital US financial support blocked by Republican lawmakers in Congress.
Talking to journalists in Capri, Kuleba lamented the fact that while the US, Britain, and France had intervened to stop Iranian missiles from hitting Israel, his own country was in want of vital defenses.
He added the strategy of the Ukrainian allies in Israel is to prevent damage and death but in Ukraine, they seem to help Kyiv in recovering from damage.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that the military alliance was actively trying to send more air defense systems to Ukraine as early as possible.
NATO trying to dispatch more Patriot batteries
He said the group is trying to dispatch more Patriot batteries to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told reporters In Washington, that Kyiv had requested for additional air defense equipment and another Patriot missile battery.
Shmyhal refused to provide any details about the current number of Patriot systems in Ukraine, terming it classified information.
He said the Biden administration had assured the Ukrainian delegation that arms would be supplied in weeks, once Congress approves a $60.8 billion US aid package.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called upon all EU countries nations to help Ukraine in the war against Russia.
