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Air defence supplies must be increased tenfold: Ukraine has appealed to its partners at the UN

Air defence supplies must be increased tenfold: Ukraine has appealed to its partners at the UN

29 May 2026, 15:00

Air defence supplies must be increased tenfold: Ukraine has appealed to its partners at the UN — Andriy Melnyk, Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN

Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, stated that the supply of air defence systems to our country needs to be increased tenfold. He called on European and American partners to ensure this happens.

The Ukrainian representative made this statement at a UN Security Council meeting, according to the UN broadcast.

“Ukraine calls on its European and American partners to increase aid in the field of air defence by at least tenfold. The alarming new scale of Russian aerial terror requires a response on a completely different scale. We need to better protect the skies above our cities and save civilian lives,” stated Ukraine’s Permanent Representative.

Furthermore, he emphasised that all UN member states must take measures to cut off funding to the Kremlin’s war machine. Otherwise, Russia will be able to continue the war.

“Every loophole that remains open, every sanction that is not enforced, and every source of income that has been overlooked gives the Kremlin the opportunity to continue its aggressive war,” he stressed.

Andriy Melnyk also called on UN Security Council members to support a resolution on an immediate ceasefire and the exchange of prisoners on an ‘all for all’ basis.

"Ukraine’s large-scale strikes on legitimate military targets not only shift the dynamics on the battlefield but also inevitably undermine Russia’s economic capacity to sustain its criminal war machine," he concluded.

Air defence for Ukraine: what is known

Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent a letter to US President Donald Trump. It contained a warning about a critical shortage of air defence systems.

"When it comes to air defence against missiles, we rely on our friends. In the matter of protection against ballistic missiles, we rely almost exclusively on the United States," the letter stated.

We also reported that the Ukrainian company Fire Point, in collaboration with partners, is developing a new air defence system called Freya, which is set to become an affordable alternative to the Patriot system.

As a reminder, it was previously reported that Ukraine has strengthened its position in the war thanks to the mass production of drones.

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