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 call for the lifting of restrictions on Kiev’s use of Western weapons on Russian territory – was “out of the question “.
Zelensky had previously called on Western powers to protect Ukrainian airspace, as they did with Israel 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 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 measures must be taken,” he said, mentioning by name the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland.
“Your bravery can be decisive for peace”, added Zelenksy, addressing the leaders directly.
He also demanded greater freedom to use Western weapons on Russian territory, noting their role in halting the Russian advance into the Kharkiv region in May.
“The more effective our air defense, the more defenseless put on 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 sufficient range to reach key Russian air bases.
At the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine urged NATO states to prevent Russia from launching further airstrikes against the country, but NATO rejected the application of a no-fly zone.
Mixed reactions from Ukraine’s allies
Ukraine’s Western allies reacted differently to Zelensky’s demands on Thursday.
Germany’s Scholz said he saw a “consensus” that shooting down Russian missiles and allowing Ukraine to strike targets in Russia were “out of the question.”
“The US is also very clear about this,” he added.
Contradicting Scholz, the 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 as it fights this war and its young men and women are on the front lines,” Lammy said.
However, the prospect of NATO allies shooting down Russian missiles seems absurd, with outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg rejecting the suggestion last week.
“We will not become a party to the conflict. That is why we support Ukraine in destroying Russian aircraft, but NATO will not be directly involved,” Stoltenberg said.
King Charles III participates in the summit
The fourth EPC summit was held at Blenheim Palace, birthplace of British wartime leader Winston Churchill, and included a reception by King Charles III.
The informal organization was only created in 2022, following 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 more 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 mainly serve to consolidate the military and financial support already granted to Ukraine, without offering security guarantees.
Zelensky criticizes Orbán’s “peace mission”
Zelensky also spoke out strongly against unilateral actions like those of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in seeking a peaceful resolution to Russia’s invasion of his country.
“We have maintained unity in Europe and we are acting together, which means [Russian President Vladimir] Putin failed his main objective: he failed to create division in Europe,” Zelensky said at the Oxford summit.
“He may try to approach you or seek out some of your partners individually, trying to seduce you or pressure you, blackmail you so that one of you betrays the others, weakening our unity,” Zelensky said.
Orbán recently traveled 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 of ending the Russian war against Ukraine.
Before visiting Moscow, Orbán was also in Kiev. He later traveled to the Chinese capital Beijing and the United States to visit presidential candidate Donald Trump.
His trips, which he called a “peace mission”, were widely denounced in European Union and NATO countries.
Russian attack 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 in the stretch near the small town of Toretsk alone there were 29 Russian attacks, 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 town of Avdiivka in Donetsk in February, Russian troops have been advancing slowly.
In total, the General Staff reported 144 Russian attack attempts since Wednesday morning.
According to reports not yet confirmed by Kiev, Ukrainian troops had to abandon the village of Kalynivka, near the town of Chasiv Yar.
Ukrainian drone attack in Crimea
Also on Thursday, Ukrainians concentrated their attacks overnight on the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, in violation of international law.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, 33 Ukrainian drones were shot down in Crimea and two drones were shot down in the Bryansk border region.
Additionally, 10 maritime drones were repelled off the coast of Crimea, it said.
The figures mentioned cannot be independently verified.
In the naval city of Sevastopol, Crimea, gunshots were heard overnight. Russian-appointed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev explained via his Telegram channel that one of the remotely controlled maritime drones was repelled. There was no information about possible damage.
