Kuleba: We do not need Taurus missiles to attack Moscow
The Foreign Minister said this in an interview with Bild, Ukrinform reports.
The conversation took place on Tuesday shortly after Russia's morning missile strike on Ukraine. In this regard, the minister noted that Russia still has the ability to launch such massive strikes, so Ukraine is grateful to its partners for the air defense systems provided, in particular the Patriot system, but more of them are needed.
Kuleba acknowledged that the situation is very serious, perhaps even more serious than it was at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion almost two years ago. The reason is the shortage of weapons, ammunition and military equipment.
"Although Ukraine has significantly increased its production and will continue to do so, we still see that the Western defense industry - that is, the defense industry of the states that help us - is not able to produce enough artillery ammunition," the Foreign Minister said.
According to him, the amount of ammunition has been the No. 1 problem from the very beginning. Russia has significantly increased its production, and it also receives them from North Korea, while Ukraine's partners cannot deliver everything that was promised, Kuleba stated. The creation of new production lines is taking too long, which not only affects aid to Ukraine, but also undermines the combat capability of European countries.
"No matter how absurd it may sound, it seems that North Korea is a more effective partner for Russia than friends who supply Ukraine with artillery ammunition. This is absurd. And this must change," the Ukrainian Foreign Minister is convinced.
He called on the Western allies to stop accusing each other of not ramping up production fast enough: "When it comes to concrete decisions, we see how our partners sometimes drown in endless discussions. But there is no time to sink, we have to swim."
Kuleba continues to hope that Germany will eventually decide to provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles.
"We don't need Taurus to attack Moscow. The long-range missiles provided by our Western partners are not needed to attack Moscow or any other part of Russia's territory. We need Taurus to destroy the Russian military infrastructure behind the frontline on the territory of Ukraine," he explained and added that negotiations on this issue are ongoing.
The foreign minister also said that he was annoyed by discussions that if aid from partners was reduced, Ukraine would be "more ready for peace talks" with Russia and make concessions. In this regard, he called for an end to speculation about the possibility of a Russian victory.
"People, officials, decision-makers, stakeholders should stop theorizing about the likelihood of a Russian victory. Because in that case, Ukraine would be the first victim," Kuleba said.
He has no doubt that if Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, he will attack a NATO country. At the same time, the minister called for optimism and focus on victory.
"We need to focus on victory. After all, we must understand that defeat will cost much more for everyone... The best way to ensure the security of Germany and other European countries is to provide Ukraine with everything it needs to defeat Russia and liberate Ukrainian territories," the Ukrainian Foreign Minister summarized.
As reported, following a regular meeting in the Ramstein format, Germany announced plans to provide Ukraine with six Sea King Mk41 multipurpose helicopters.
Photo: OP
