EU and NATO Consider Defense of Ukrainian Airspace: German Proposal and Berlin's Leadership
Countries within the European Union, as members of NATO, could potentially safeguard the airspace above Ukraine, even from within the confines of the North Atlantic Alliance.
This proposition stems from a coalition of German parliamentarians, as reported by The Moscow Times, citing Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Both ruling and opposition parliamentarians advocate for this notion, asserting that it could bolster Ukraine's defence capabilities along its borders.
German legislators posit that the precedent set by Israel, where the USA, France, the United Kingdom, and other nations aided in repelling an Iranian air assault, serves as evidence that such a decision would not implicate NATO nations in the conflict.
Anton Hofreiter, a German Deputy and President of the Committee for European Affairs, endorses the deployment of defence systems in Romania and Poland – both NATO member states – to intercept "Russian drones" traversing Ukrainian airspace.
Recently, Andrzej Szejna, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, elucidated that within the framework of the North Atlantic Alliance, various strategies are under consideration, including the interception of Russian missiles when they approach NATO borders.
In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky implored NATO countries to utilise their aircraft to intercept Russian missiles targeting the country's energy infrastructure.
Berlin has emerged as a leading proponent of supporting Ukraine's anti-aircraft defence, initiating an effort within NATO aimed at supplying additional anti-aircraft defence systems and committing its third Patriot system to Kiev.
Russian drones have repeatedly breached Polish and Romanian airspace.
Warsaw and Bucharest have mobilised their air forces during large-scale missile attacks on Ukraine, although they have refrained from using them to engage targets.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
