Today, at an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Wicklow, Ireland, European governments are scrambling to find additional missile interceptors for Ukraine as the country faces a critical shortage of air-defence ammunition ahead of winter. The meeting is taking place under the Foreign Affairs Council defence format, although no formal decisions are expected to be adopted.
Speaking at the doorstep ahead of the meeting, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said air defence was now the most pressing issue facing Ukraine. “The main issue is air defence. They are lacking interceptors,” she said, urging countries holding missiles approaching the end of their shelf life to transfer them to Ukraine before they expire.
High Representative Kallas said the EU was also reaching out to countries outside the bloc in an effort to source additional interceptors, while European countries are working with Ukraine on developing European-made interceptor capabilities. She also said efforts were under way to unblock €6.6 billion held up under the European Peace Facility, potentially releasing further money that member states could direct towards Ukraine’s air defence.
The appeal comes after another deadly night of Russian bombardment. Russian drones and ballistic missiles killed 12 people in Kyiv and the surrounding region early on Tuesday, marking the sixth consecutive day of attacks on the Ukrainian capital. Eight people were killed in Kyiv and four in Boryspil, outside the capital, while at least 13 others were injured there. Six railway employees were among those killed after ballistic missiles struck railway facilities in Kyiv.
Ukraine said Russia used a significant number of newer jet-powered drones as well as ballistic missiles during the attack. Ukrainian air defences managed to shoot down five ballistic missiles, while 187 of 218 drones were intercepted, according to Ukraine’s air force. Strikes also hit the Odesa region, including infrastructure near the Romanian border, and left thousands of families without electricity.
Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against ballistic missiles has become particularly precarious because of a shortage of US-made Patriot interceptors, one of the few systems Ukraine possesses capable of reliably engaging high-speed ballistic missiles. Kyiv is seeking to build up a stockpile of around 300 Patriot interceptors for the coming winter, financed by European allies, while US inventories have themselves come under severe pressure.
The shortage has raised fears of another winter of Russian attacks against Ukraine’s electricity and heating networks. During the previous winter, repeated Russian strikes caused major power and heating outages. Russia is also using North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukrainian civilians.
Meanwhile, European governments are stepping up pressure on Russia’s shadow fleet.
On Monday, Kallas announced that EU forces had boarded the oil tanker MV SUN, suspected of operating as part of Russia’s shadow fleet and of sailing under a false flag in breach of international maritime law. The actual boarding took place on Sunday, 30 August, in the Mediterranean, when forces operating under the EU’s EUNAVFOR MED Operation IRINI boarded the vessel to verify its flag and documentation.
The vessel was understood to be flying the Cameroon flag and was boarded by Italian military personnel off Italy. Kallas said the operation marked the sixth suspected shadow-fleet vessel boarded by EU operations in recent months. The operation was a flag-verification inspection rather than a reported seizure, with the MV SUN subsequently reported to be continuing westwards through the Mediterranean.
“Illegal oil sales from shadow fleet ships are a critical lifeline for Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Kallas said when announcing the operation, adding that the EU would continue efforts to disrupt the trade. Measures against Russia’s shadow fleet are also expected to feature in European discussions on maritime security as governments seek stronger ways of enforcing sanctions on Russian oil exports.
Newsroom
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