President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told The Guardian that security guarantees for Ukraine from Europe alone would be ineffective without US involvement.
Zelenskyy’s claims came ahead of the Munich Security Conference, scheduled for 14-16 February, which would focus on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“There are voices which say that Europe could offer security guarantees without the Americans, and I always say no,” said Zelenskyy, adding that “security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees.”
The Ukrainian president stressed the importance of continued US military aid, mentioning the Patriot air defense systems that Kyiv received from Washington, which are capable of intercepting Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles, as a key example of irreplaceable support.
“Only Patriot can defend us against all kinds of missiles, only Patriots. There are other [European] systems … but they cannot provide full protection … So even from this small example you can see that without America, security guarantees cannot be complete,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kyiv is waiting for Keith Kellogg, the US’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, to visit Kyiv next week. He could arrive in Ukraine as soon as Thursday, 20 February.
According to Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office Andrii Yermak Kellogg would “provide comprehensive information on Russian aggression against our country.”
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