Failing to obtain sufficient anti-aircraft means to protect itself from the deluge of Russian fire, Ukraine is pressing its European allies to establish a no-fly zone in the west of its territory using defense systems deployed in neighboring Poland and Romania, to create a sanctuary where industries, energy infrastructure and civilian populations would be protected.
“I do not understand why NATO does not deploy Patriot batteries (anti-aircraft defense system, editor’s note) along the Polish border. After all, Russian missiles have already entered Polish and Romanian airspace. This would protect the borders of Poland and Romania and create a safe zone in the West and South of Ukraine,” argues MP Oleksiy Goncharenko (independent).
Delivery of anti-aircraft missiles
A request relayed by several Ukrainian civil and military officials met by AFP in kyiv, as part of a trip organized by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and the Ukrainian think tank New Europe Center. The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba opened the debate at the end of May by assuring that there was “no legal, security or moral argument which would prevent our partners from shooting down Russian missiles over the territory of Ukraine in from their territory”, but without specifying the terms of this scenario.
For several months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking his Western partners for additional sky protection systems, but these have only arrived in dribs and drabs. Kiev’s latest victories: Romania has just promised to send it a Patriot system, and the United States has decided to supply Ukraine with anti-aircraft missiles as a priority for sixteen months to allow the country to replenish its stocks. But time is running out for the country, half of whose national electricity production capacity has been destroyed in recent months. Every week, Russian missiles and drones strike its energy network, causing daily power cuts that affect almost the entire population.
Critical energy situation
After having shelled Ukrainian energy distribution networks for months from October 2022, Russia is now focused on destroying production facilities, which are much more expensive and take years to repair. Moscow is also targeting the country’s energy reserves. “In western Ukraine, Russia has set up an underground gas storage facility, buried 3 km deep,” underlines a European diplomatic source.
“In the energy sector, the situation is extremely difficult,” a senior Ukrainian security official said, fearing that it could deteriorate further as winter approaches. “Talks are underway” with Western allies about this “no-fly zone” over western Ukraine, but “it is not an easy decision to make,” the official explained. Western countries are anxious not to engage head-on with Russia, which “makes the process slow and silent,” he noted.
The issue could be discussed at the upcoming NATO summit in Washington in early July, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanichyna. “We are doing everything we can to mobilize enough air defenses to allow the country to continue to function throughout this war,” she said.
kyiv, on the other hand, does not expect any progress in the perspective of joining the Alliance. “The chances for us to obtain (during this summit) an invitation to join NATO are close to zero”, Washington and Berlin being opposed to it, deplores a Ukrainian diplomatic source, who does not despair of obtaining concessions on other subjects. “The feeling of guilt puts pressure on the allies to make strong alternative decisions” in favor of kyiv, believes the source.