Prime minister to European Council: Iran strikes prove west can defend Ukraine
The successful deflection of the bulk of Iran's recent drone and missile strike on Israel demonstrates that the collective West does have the capacity to down projectiles fired by hostile states, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said Wednesday, contrasting that with responses so far to Russian strikes on Ukraine.
The prime minister made her remarks while in Brussels for a special European Council meeting.
"Where there is a will, then there is a way for those drones to be downed," Kallas told ERR, in the aftermath of last weekend's Iranian strikes on Israel.
"The fact that this has not been done in Ukraine in the same way raises questions, however. Why are they shot down in Israel's case, but not in Ukraine's?" Kallas went on.
"Of course, I already know all the arguments that are given in response: That Russia is a nuclear state and so on. But it is still very painful to see that in Ukraine, those same drones hit civilians on a daily basis," the prime minister added.
While the European Council meeting which began on Wednesday evening was initially supposed to focus primarily on EU business competitiveness, the increasingly tense international situation inevitably influenced the agenda.
My message to EU leaders: let's demonstrate the will to defeat Russian aggression.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) April 17, 2024
Israel's success in intercepting Iran's attack shows the power of cooperation and help from partners. It must also remind us to help Ukraine. They are under daily drone and missile attacks.#EUCO pic.twitter.com/EaO9lQBCYH
The EU's leaders are certainly at least talking about boosting Ukraine's air defense, a need that has become especially evident in comparison with the situation in Israel, a country which, along with allies including France, the U.S., and the U.K., managed to take out nearly all the estimated 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran from late Saturday night.
ERR correspondent: Kallas must have made her EU colleagues feel uncomfortable
ERR's Brussels correspondent Joosep Värk summarized Kallas performance in saying her "messages at the table must be such that they make her colleagues feel very uncomfortable."
"I think the message could be very critical, as it is not really a normal situation where missiles and drones striking Israel get shot down at the same time those directed at Ukraine, and possibly even entering Polish and Romanian airspace - NATO airspace in other words - are left unmolested," he went on.
"This clearly signals that Western countries are actually afraid of Russia, so Russia only gets emboldened by these actions," he added.
Various countries have in recent days however discussed the need to create an air defense coalition to develop air defense capabilities in Ukraine, Värk noted.
"But the trouble with these types of coalitions is that they take a lot of time. For example, the F-16 coalition was talked about for much of last year, yet Ukraine still does not possess these fighter jets. And even if Ukraine were to start receiving them soon, they would still lack the air defense weapons with which these fighters could safely fly," Värk noted.
EU Policy towards Turkey was also on the table at the European Council meeting, in addition to the situation in Ukraine and in the Middle East.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Mait Ots
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera,' reporter Joosep Värk.
