Ukraine asks European allies for ‘no-fly’ zone

– Lacking sufficient anti-aircraft systems to repel Russia’s unrelenting attacks, Ukraine is pushing its European allies to establish a no-fly zone in the west of the country by deploying air defence systems in neighbouring Poland and Romania, officials said.

Kyiv would like to create a safe space in western Ukraine where industry, energy infrastructure and civilians can be protected against the massive destruction unleashed by Russian strikes in recent months.

“I don’t understand why Nato doesn’t deploy Patriot systems along the Polish border,” said lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko, referring to US-manufactured air defence systems.

“After all, Russian missiles have already entered Polish and Romanian airspace. This would protect the borders of Poland and Romania and this would create a safe zone in Ukraine,” he added.

That request was mirrored by several Ukrainian civilian and military officials who spoke to AFP in Kyiv during a trip organised by the French Institute of International Relations and local think-tank New Europe Centre.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba opened the debate in May, saying there was “no legal, security or moral argument that stands in the way of our partners shooting down Russian missiles over the territory of Ukraine from their territory”.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has spent months pushing for more air defences from his Western partners, but fresh supplies have only trickled in.

Recent victories for Kyiv include Romania’s promise of a Patriot missile defence system and the US has said it will prioritise sales of anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine for the next 16 months to allow it to replenish its stocks.

But time is running out for Ukraine, which has seen half its national electricity production capacity destroyed.

Russia focused on shelling Ukraine’s energy distribution networks during the winter of 2022-2023, but has recently been destroying energy production facilities, which are more costly and take years to repair or rebuild.

Moscow is also targeting the country’s energy reserves.

A European diplomatic source says Russian determination was underlined when it struck a facility storing gas 3km underground in the west of Ukraine. –