The west defends Israel’s skies. Not doing the same for Ukraine is a deadly mistake | Nathalie Tocci
www.theguardian.com
In Kyiv, I saw life under Russian aerial attack. If Europe doesn’t share its air defence systems now, Putin’s threat will only spread, says Guardian Europe columnist Nathalie Tocci

The value of an effective air defence system and of unwavering international support was crystal clear the night of Iran’s massive attack on Israel: most Iranian missiles and drones were destroyed before they reached Israeli soil. The US, the UK and France, as well as Jordan, participated in Israel’s defence.

Unlike Israel, Ukraine lacks sufficient air defences, and the west provides far less than it could or should to defend Ukraine against Russia. Ukraine is not dealing with one-off retaliation for striking a Russian consulate – as Israel is with Iran. Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine since 2014, aimed at eradicating its nationhood.

  • Dremor
    2•25 days ago

    I agree that Ukraine deserves way more than Israel, but there is some important difference that explains why there is no such defense possible.

    First, there is a lot of friendly countries between Israel and Iran, which allowed the interception of the missiles in their airspace. As such, aircraft could intercept those missiles with close to no risks. Is it possible in Urkraine ? No it isn’t.

    Secondly Israel and Russia or both nuclear power, which Ukraine and Iran aren’t. Intercepting those missile make US and allies cobelligerent, which they seem ok with as Iran cannot meaningfully hurt them. It the case of Russia, it will mean having a war between two nuclear “superpower”, which mean a possible escalation toward whipping humanity, or at least a good chunk of it, from earth. No one can afford that.