We could provide Middle Eastern countries with weapons against Shaheds in exchange for Patriot missiles – Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine cannot transfer to Middle Eastern countries weapons that it itself is in short supply of.
The head of state said this during a briefing, Censor.NET reports.
Details
"This morning, I spoke with the leaders of the UAE. I think in the coming days I will speak with each of the leaders of those countries (in the Middle East. – Ed.) that are making contact or want cooperation. For all of them, the number one issue is how to protect the sky.
We ourselves live with this issue. Our colleagues in the Middle East have never faced such massive strikes. Thank God, but now they are facing something of the kind. And that is why everyone is interested in our experience," he said.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine cannot simply transfer weapons that it is itself short of.
"Everyone understands this. Knowledge, expertise, they know that they can come here; they have received those signals. They can take that expertise on how to protect civilians. That is absolutely possible," the head of state explained.
"If we are talking about something global, training, our teams, our weapons, and so on, I said yesterday that I understand what a massive attack is, and all of us here understand it. If the leaders of the Middle East manage to reach an agreement with Putin, and they have good economic relations with him, if they reach a ceasefire agreement with him, then those guys who protect our sky may go and protect or train those societies," he added.
"And if missiles are flying at us, with all due respect, we are here and we will defend our state," Zelenskyy said.
Agreements are needed
Commenting on the future, Zelenskyy said that if there is a strategic partnership between states, then they should help one another with weapons, education, and training.
"For example, we have an agreement with the British; they help us, and we help them. If missiles were flying at them tomorrow, we would not only provide expertise, we would protect them. We would give them weapons to shoot down those missiles, just as they give us Storm Shadow missiles or some kind of air defense. These are absolutely clear relations," the president explained.
The head of state noted that Ukraine is building relations with the countries of the Middle East.
"We can do the same. For example, today they have Patriot systems, PAC-3 missiles, they have all that. But does that protect against hundreds of Shaheds? No. It is a model that does not work. But are we short of PAC-3 missiles? Yes.
If we are talking about weapons during wartime that we are short of, then if they give us PAC-3 missiles, we will give them interceptors. That is an equal exchange," he concluded.
