Russia uses helicopters to attack ground targets Photo: Press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense shoulder missiles to challenge Russia's air supremacy, Kiev's foreign minister said.
Dmytro Kuleba said «dropping Russia from the sky» is second only to the supply of artillery ammunition in problems of an offensive look and urged the kit to do so.
“The biggest problem in a counteroffensive is the sustainability of the supply of artillery ammunition, and in sufficient quantities. And the second most important problem of the counteroffensive is Russian air supremacy,” he said.
The UK Department of Defense said in an intelligence brief this week that Russia has gained a «temporary advantage» in aerial combat. opposition of its aviation and air defense of Ukraine, highlighting helicopters that fire long-range missiles at ground targets.
“The answer to the second problem is to have planes and helicopters, as well as to have more MANPADS,” he said . «Stingers, as well as old Soviet systems capable of throwing Russia out of the sky.»
Dmitry Kuleba, Ukraine' The Foreign Minister spoke about the counteroffensive at the Ukraine Reconstruction Conference in London. Photo: Future Publishing
Russian media welcomed the KA-52 combat helicopter, in particular, to repel Ukrainian attacks in the Zaporozhye region. Analysts say Ukrainian forces are vulnerable to Russian air power because they have too few advanced air defense systems to risk deployment close to the front lines.
Western allies have finally agreed to supply F-16 fighter jets, something Ukrainian officials have long said they need to assert air superiority last month. They are unlikely to be in action before September.
Ukraine has liberated eight villages since it launched a long-awaited counter-offensive in the south of the country two weeks ago.
' Slower than we would like'
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted to the BBC that the counteroffensive is «slower than we would like».
The disappointing outcome of the offensive may complicate Kuleba's diplomatic work — to convince the allies not only to maintain the flow of ammunition and weapons, but to support Ukraine's own vision of a possible world.
“When planning the counteroffensive, we shared our vision of its ultimate goal with our partners, and they know it,” he said.
“The question is, you are right, that success on the battlefield depends on the direction in which diplomatic efforts go. And on this occasion, I have two points.
“Firstly, this counter-offensive or the next counter-offensive should not be regarded as decisive or final. There will be as many counteroffensives as necessary to liberate Ukraine.”
“Secondly, of course, we are careful. We are aware of the fact that if the achievements on the ground are not perceived as a success, the voices saying, “OK, we tried, but it doesn’t work militarily, so we have to put them to the negotiating table and negotiate” will become louder.
However, he dismissed the suggestion that US Republican calls for an end to support for Ukraine constituted the mainstream of the party and said he expected bipartisan American support for Ukraine to continue.
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Responding to a question about the prospect of a possible return of Donald Trump to White house in 2024, he said it was «a choice the people of America must make.» Trump is skeptical about supporting Ukraine. François Hollande, the former president of France, said this month that he thought Mr. Trump would end his support if he regained the White House.
All weapon classes are unlocked
Mr Kuleba said that all weapon classes that Ukraine has requested from its Western allies, including air defenses, modern tanks, fighter jets and long-range precision missiles, are now “unlocked,” although speed issues remain and scale of deliveries.
“The biggest mountain we have to climb is to ensure the sustainability of the supply of artillery ammunition. It is still the unconquered pinnacle of weapons diplomacy, he said.
Ukraine is still trying to convince the United States to deploy Himars-launched ATACMS missiles for long-range precision strikes, he said. , because the air-launched Storm Shadow missiles supplied by Britain are not in sufficient numbers.
Mr. Kuleba spoke at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, a gathering of governments and business leaders designed to encourage private sector investment in post-war reconstruction.
While investment was the official theme of the conference, it was largely overshadowed by long-term discussions security guarantees.
Ukraine believes that joining NATO after the war is essential to deter Russia from repeated attempts to attack, and is seeking «a decisive step towards Ukraine's membership» in NATO. summit in Vilnius next month.
Mr Kuleba says he is also telling allies that failure «would be a missed opportunity for NATO more than for Ukraine» because Kiev would take on most of the security burden on the eastern flank if it was admitted into the alliance.
James Cleverley, foreign minister, and Catherine Colonna, French foreign minister, said on Wednesday they would support speeding up the process by removing the Membership Action Plan (MAP) requirement. French officials told Le Monde this week that Paris now sees Ukraine's NATO membership as a necessary condition to get Russia to the negotiating table.
No formal invitation has been received in Vilnius
However, several key allies, including the United States and Germany, expressed reluctance.
Joe Biden said he would not «simplify» the entry of Ukraine, because they would have to meet the same standards as everyone else.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General said this week that there will be no official invitation to Vilnius.
“We have a feeling that a consensus is emerging on the rejection of the MAP as a condition on the path to membership. This is in line with Ukraine's expectations — in part,» Mr. Kuleba said. “We believe that NATO can even go so far as to extend an invitation to Ukraine. And that's what they don't seem to want to do,» he said.
“This leaves a gap in the middle that needs to be filled, and there is a lot of diplomatic work to be done in the next two weeks to find a balance of words that would bring Ukraine closer to NATO membership without forcing some countries to cross borders they do not agree to. cross the border.”
What Ukraine will not accept is a diplomatic hoax like the one made at the 2008 NATO summit, when Ukraine and Georgia were promised membership at an unspecified future date.
>That would include the idea of elevating the current NATO-Ukraine commission to the level of the NATO-Ukraine Council — a pointless gesture, says Mr Kuleba, which would oddly place Ukraine in the same category of NATO partner as Russia was before intrusions. .“I will say this. In Bucharest we received a false promise. And we accepted it. And we forced ourselves to believe it. But nothing from Bucharest came true.
“So the difference is that if we see NATO try to make another false promise today, we won't buy it. We will not play the game that is offered to us, where we have to accept what is given to us. We will demand policy changes, really significant policy changes.”
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