Zelenskyy has announced the formation of an anti-ballistic coalition for the ‘Freya’ project
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has announced that the first meeting of countries, companies and national security advisers, dedicated to the joint European ‘Freya’ anti-ballistic missile system project, will take place in France in the coming days.
According to the head of state, ‘Freya’ is a Ukrainian anti-ballistic system, which he described as a European project chaired by Ukraine. It is intended to be the equivalent of the Patriot system for intercepting ballistic targets, whilst also allowing for mass production and a lower cost. Zelenskyy noted that this was precisely the task set for Ukrainian manufacturers.
The President emphasised that Ukraine is offering its European partners the opportunity to work on the project in cooperation. According to him, eight European countries could join in the development of the system, as the project requires not only missiles and launchers, but also radars, control systems and other components which Ukraine does not currently possess.
“Our task was to bring together leaders, companies and the NSA, to gather everyone together and present a proposal for a joint European anti-ballistic project called ‘Freya’. To present it to the countries that can help Ukraine get this project off the ground very quickly,” said Zelenskyy.
He also noted that anti-ballistic defence is the number one priority for Ukraine. According to the president, if the project receives support from partners, ‘Freya’ will help Ukraine to protect its airspace from ballistic threats using its own resources.
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine is ready to share its expertise with the countries that have supported it during the war, first and foremost with its European partners.
“If leaders, their manufacturing capabilities and their companies support ‘Freya’, it will become a reality in the near future. To be honest, that is our number one goal. We will then be able to secure Ukraine’s airspace with our own capabilities. And, importantly, we will share ‘Freya’ with all our partners, particularly our European partners, who have helped Ukraine during this war,” the President said.
