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.

  • Joe
    0•24 days ago

    I think you underestimate the desire for russia to avoid a direct war with the west, and overestimate the west’s response (which would be devestatingly tactical, but limited)

    We see how the west and russia go out of their way to avoid direct clashes in Syria, and have painted over the odd incident. This is officially still a SMO.

    The challenge is how to better protect the cities, supplies and infrastructure in the rear without getting directly involved at the front.

    More air defence is the approach that will most likely be taken, but it leaves everything in Ukraine as a target for russian aggression and terror. Every apartment complex, school and hospital is a valid target for russia.

    There would be significant strategic and tactical ambiguity in having western countries regularly entering Ukrainian airspace to patrol and interept. It would be a huge morale boost for Ukrainians, and a blow to the russians.

    It is still unlikely to happen without a significant change like the russian federation’s collapse or perhaps a true stalemate at the front. I don’t see either happening soon, but the ballet is notoriously hard to predict in russia.

    edit: the realistic threat of direct involvement might be enough to achieve similar results, and being unsure whether they are tracking/targeting ukrainian equipment or not would give pause.