The west defends Israel’s skies. Not doing the same for Ukraine is a deadly mistake | Nathalie Tocci
www.theguardian.com
In Kyiv, I saw life under Russian aerial attack. If Europe doesn’t share its air defence systems now, Putin’s threat will only spread, says Guardian Europe columnist Nathalie Tocci

The value of an effective air defence system and of unwavering international support was crystal clear the night of Iran’s massive attack on Israel: most Iranian missiles and drones were destroyed before they reached Israeli soil. The US, the UK and France, as well as Jordan, participated in Israel’s defence.

Unlike Israel, Ukraine lacks sufficient air defences, and the west provides far less than it could or should to defend Ukraine against Russia. Ukraine is not dealing with one-off retaliation for striking a Russian consulate – as Israel is with Iran. Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine since 2014, aimed at eradicating its nationhood.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    4•25 days ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The value of an effective air defence system and of unwavering international support was crystal clear the night of Iran’s massive attack on Israel: most Iranian missiles and drones were destroyed before they reached Israeli soil.

    A recent missile attack on a power generation plant in the north means that hundreds of thousands, if not a million more Ukrainians could be forced to leave their homes by next winter.

    Now that the US House of Representatives has finally passed a long-awaited package of military aid worth $61bn for Ukraine after months of stalling, it could hold the line, perhaps losing some more territory in the Donetsk region.

    Making a state and a society function with a halved population, while fending off an invasion by one of the world’s largest armies, requires unimaginable resilience.

    Belatedly, the realisation of a long war has dawned on the west, and arms production is being ramped up: by next year, European governments should be able to compensate for some of the current mismatch.

    A diplomat stationed in Kyiv told us that when the EU moved to open accession negotiations with Ukraine last December, soldiers on the frontline were jubilant.

    The original article contains 1,182 words, the summary contains 194 words. Saved 84%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!