KYIV, April 19 (Reuters) - Europe must have its own defense system against ballistic weapons, and Ukraine is already holding talks with several countries on its creation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Ukraine Advocates for Europe-wide Ballistic Missile Defense System
Ukraine's Push for a European Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense
Current Challenges Facing Ukraine
KYIV, April 19 (Reuters) - Europe must have its own defense system against ballistic weapons, and Ukraine is already holding talks with several countries on its creation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday.
Defense against ballistic missiles is one of Ukraine's biggest challenges in the war with Russia, since only certain types of missiles used by the American Patriot system are capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
Russia uses ballistic missiles to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure, destroying thermal power generation and electricity transmission systems.
Ukraine's Proposal for a European Defense System
"I believe, and my idea is that we should have a European anti-ballistic missile defense system. We are in talks with several countries and are working in this direction," Zelenskiy told the national TV channel, Marathon.
"We need to build our own anti-ballistic missile defense system within a year," he added.
International Cooperation and Feasibility
Zelenskiy said the task is extremely difficult but realistic, and added that he had already discussed it with key European countries, though he did not name them.
He gave no more details.
Industry Response and Alternatives
However, Fire Point, maker of Ukraine's Flamingo cruise missile, told Reuters this month that it was in talks with European companies to launch a new air defence system by next year, creating a low-cost alternative to the increasingly hard-to-get Patriot system.
Current Limitations of Existing Defense Systems
Patriot missiles are in increasingly short supply amid extensive deployment in the Gulf against Iranian attacks. And Europe's only anti-ballistic system, the Italo-French SAMP/T, is produced in relatively small numbers.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
