Kuleba: Ukraine's goal for 2024 is to drive Russia out of the sky

"In 2024, the priority is to knock Russia out of the sky because whoever controls the sky decides when and how the war will end"

4397 views 16 comment(s)
Kuleba, Photo: Reuters
Kuleba, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Ukraine says it aims to dominate the skies now dominated by Russia in 2024, warning that it will take "time" to defeat Moscow and continued help from the West.

This appeal comes at a time when Europeans and Americans are hesitant to continue providing aid to Kiev. Ukraine fears that this hesitation could lead to the freezing of the conflict, which is favorable for Russia, which now occupies almost 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.

"In 2024, the priority is to knock Russia out of the sky because whoever controls the sky decides when and how the war will end," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"We beat them on land in 2022, we beat them in 2023 at sea and we're concentrating on beating them in the air in 2024," he said.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but failed to capture Kiev and was then expelled from the north, northeast and part of the south of the country. In 2023, with naval drone and missile attacks, Ukrainian forces were able to lift the blockade of some of their ports in the Black Sea and resume some exports, especially grain.

In order for them to rule the skies, Kuleba repeated that his country needs the West to supply it with airplanes, as well as long-range missiles, missiles that the Americans and Europeans supplied only in small numbers for fear of escalating the conflict with Russia. The F16s are due to be delivered to Ukraine this year.

"For this, it will be necessary to supply Ukraine with aircraft... long-range missiles and drones, the production of which Ukraine has significantly increased," Kuleba said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is also in Davos, said today that any delay in sending aid to his country threatens the security of the European continent.

If there is no help, Ukraine will have a significant lack of artillery, will have a large deficit in missiles for anti-aircraft defense, and will not be able to repel attacks, added Zelensky, warning of a possible future war between NATO and Russia.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed doubts about the prospects for a ceasefire in Ukraine, assessing that Moscow has shown no willingness to negotiate in good faith after almost two years of Russian invasion.

Almost every night, Ukraine is targeted by drones and missiles launched by Russia from land, sea or air. The Ukrainian army announced that it shot down 19 of the 20 drones fired by the Russians last night in Odesa, in the south, which was also hit by a rocket this morning, when three people were wounded.

Thanks to the defense systems given to them by the West, Ukrainian forces manage to shoot down most of the missiles sent by Russia, but there is a threat of a shortage of ammunition.

"We are fighting a very strong enemy, a very big one, an enemy that never sleeps. It takes time," Kuleba said.

The West has also sent a very limited number of long-range weapons that Kiev considers crucial to victory.

French President Emmanuel Macron promised yesterday to deliver another 40 pieces.

Yesterday, Putin assessed that the very existence of the Ukrainian state is at stake after the failure of Kiev's big summer counter-offensive, in which Ukraine failed to liberate the territories occupied by the Russian army.

Bonus video: