German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for Western allies to shoot down Russian missiles and drones over Ukrainian territory.
At a European Political Community (EPC) summit near Oxford in the United Kingdom, Scholz said such a move – as well as Zelensky’s request for the lifting of restrictions on Kiev’s use of Western weapons on Russian territory – was “out of the question.”
Zelensky had earlier asked Western powers to protect Ukrainian airspace, as they did Israel’s when Iran launched a massive missile and drone attack in April.
“There must be a collective will to shoot them down just as there was with the Iranian missiles and drones,” Zelensky said at the meeting, which was attended by dozens of European prime ministers and presidents.
Missiles and drones are not carriers of state sovereignty, Zelensky argued. “These steps must be taken,” he said, mentioning the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland by name.
“Your bravery can be decisive for peace,” Zelenksy added, addressing the leaders directly.
He also demanded greater freedom to use Western weapons on Russian territory, noting their role in halting a Russian advance in Kharkiv region in May.
“The more effective our air defence is, the more helpless Putin will be,” Zelenksy said. “The fewer restrictions we have on the use of effective weapons, the more Russia will seek peace.”
Despite substantial Western support, Ukraine still lacks missiles with the range to reach key Russian air bases.
At the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine urged NATO states to prevent Russia from launching further airstrikes on the country but NATO rejected the enforcement of a no-fly zone.
Mixed reactions from Ukraine’s allies
Ukraine’s Western allies reacted in differing ways to Zelensky’s demands on Thursday.
Germany’s Scholz said he saw a “consensus” that shooting down Russian missiles and allowing Ukraine to hit targets in Russia were “out of the question.”
“The US is also very clear on this,” he added.
Contradicting Scholz, new British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told dpa that he opposed restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western weapons.
“It is important that Ukraine makes its own decisions about its operations while it is fighting this war and its young men and women are on the front line,” said Lammy.
However, the prospect of NATO allies shooting down Russian missiles seems far-fetched, with outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg dismissing the suggestion last week.
“We will not become a party to the conflict. That is why we are supporting Ukraine in destroying Russian aircraft, but NATO will not be directly involved,” said Stoltenberg.
King Charles III attends summit
The fourth EPC summit was held at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of British wartime leader Winston Churchill, and included a reception by King Charles III.
The informal organization was only created in 2022, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. All European countries except Belarus and Russia are members.
As at previous summits, the war in Ukraine was the dominant topic.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who came to power earlier this month, hosted the summit, promising Ukraine further support “for as long as it takes.”
Ukraine signed security agreements with the Czech Republic and Slovenia, valid for 10 years. Kiev has already concluded such agreements with almost two dozen states, including Germany, and the EU.
They primarily serve to consolidate military and financial support already for Ukraine, without offering security guarantees.
Zelensky slams Orbán’s ‘peace mission’
Zelensky also spoke out strongly against unilateral actions like those of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the search for a peaceful resolution to Russia’s invasion of his country.
“We have maintained unity in Europe and are acting together which means [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has missed his primary target: He has failed to create division in Europe,” Zelensky said at the summit in Oxford.
“He may try to approach you or go to some of your partners individually, trying to tempt or pressure you, to blackmail you so that one of you betrays the rest, weakening our unity,” Zelensky said.
Orbán recently travelled to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin without consulting Brussels or Kiev.
According to his own statements, the Hungarian prime minister was exploring the possibilities for ending the Russian war against Ukraine.
Before visiting Moscow, Orbán was also in Kiev. He later travelled to the Chinese capital Beijing and to the United States to visit presidential candidate Donald Trump.
His trips, which he referred to as a “peace mission,” have been widely denounced in European Union and NATO countries.
Russian assault on Ukraine’s eastern front
Meanwhile in Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Thursday reported heavy Russian attacks on the front in the east of the country.
The military said that on the section near the small town of Toretsk alone there had been 29 Russian assaults, sometimes using glide bombs dropped from aircraft.
Toretsk is located in the Donetsk region, as is another hard-hit section of the front, Pokrovsk, where 26 attacks were reported.
After capturing the Donetsk city of Avdiivka in February, Russian troops have been slowly advancing.
In total, the general staff has reported 144 Russian attack attempts since Wednesday morning.
According to reports that have to yet to confirmed by Kiev, Ukrainian troops had to abandon the village of Kalynivka near the town of Chasiv Yar.
Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea
Also on Thursday, the Ukrainians concentrated their attacks during the night on the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 in violation of international law.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defence in Moscow, 33 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Crimea, and two drones were downed over the Bryansk border region.
Additionally, 10 sea drones were repelled off the coast of Crimea, it said.
The figures mentioned cannot be independently verified.
In the naval city of Sevastopol in Crimea, gunfire was heard overnight. Russian-appointed Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev explained via his Telegram channel that one of the remote-controlled sea drones had been repelled. There was no information about possible damage.
Source Agencies
