Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging Western nations to mirror the robust defense support extended to Israel during a recent Iranian airstrike. In a Telegram post, Zelenskyy lauded the swift and effective response of Israel and its allies, underscoring the significance of their collective defensive measures.
“The allied action to help Israel demonstrated how truly effective unity in defending against terror can be when it is based on sufficient political will,” remarked Zelenskyy. He commended the joint efforts of Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Jordan, which swiftly thwarted the majority of Iranian projectiles, largely intercepted by US and UK jets before breaching Israeli airspace.
Highlighting that this defensive intervention didn’t necessitate invoking NATO’s Article 5 due to Israel’s non-membership, Zelenskyy underscored that substantial support can be provided without directly involving the alliance in conflict. He urged Western nations to extend analogous protection to Ukraine against Russian long-range assaults, asserting that European airspace could have been shielded earlier had Ukraine received comparable assistance in intercepting drones and missiles.
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Zelenskyy intends to engage in further discussions on this matter with Ukraine’s Western allies. Throughout the persistent conflict, Kyiv has consistently appealed for Western aid to safeguard itself from Russian airstrikes, including advocating for a NATO-enforced no-fly zone over Ukraine. However, such proposals have remained unaddressed amidst apprehensions of provoking a direct confrontation with Russia, an action Moscow has warned would be construed as siding with Kyiv in the conflict.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed calls for increased support in a press briefing earlier, drawing parallels with Western assistance to Israel.
“We see that when allies act as one in a very coordinated way, not a single missile falls on the targets, reaches targets in Israel,” remarked Kuleba alongside his Norwegian counterpart.
“Everything we are asking from partners, even if you cannot act the way you act in Israel, give us what we need and we will do the rest of the job,” he added.
Over the weekend, Iran launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation for an April 1 strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.
Israel’s military reported intercepting 99 percent of the aerial threats with assistance from the United States and other allies, resulting in minimal damage from the overnight attack.
