Ukraine should join Sky Shield initiative - aviation expert

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

"We keep saying that we need about 25 Patriot systems, we definitely need at least 3 THAAD systems, which are anti-missile systems, or Israeli Arrow systems. By the way, speaking of air defense systems, it should be noted that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, some European countries joined the initiative Europe's Sky Shield, which is about 41 countries, and not only European countries, but also Turkey, to create a unified air defense system to protect against Russian aggression. And this initiative includes such systems as Patriot, Israeli Arrow and others, which creates a certain message for our diplomats that we need to join this system in order to realize what Mr. President said about the possibility of intercepting missiles by our Western partners," he said.

The aviation expert believes that Ukraine's possible accession to this initiative could be a “powerful step.”

"I think that if Ukraine joins this initiative, it will be a powerful step. Because, firstly, we will be able to get more weapons, and secondly, we will be able to share our experience with our Western partners, because no officer, even from a NATO country, has ever shot down the Kh-101 missile or Kinzhal missile, or intercepted an Iskander, and we have this experience and can share it. But let's then exchange on an equal footing, that is, we are saying that we are creating a unified air defense system with Europe, and this will not be joining NATO, it will not be joining the European Union, it will be a separate new legal structure, which I think will psychologically confuse Putin by its appearance," Khrapchynskyi said.

• On May 29, neutral Austria signed a memorandum under the European Missile and Air Defense Program (abbreviated as Sky Shield), completing its official accession to the initiative.