"No American bases in Ukraine": Borrell clarifies US will not take action on Russian missiles
Josep Borrell. Photo: Kristin Olsson/TT News Agency via Reuters
The US military and its allies closed Israel's airspace following the Iranian attack due to the presence of US military bases in the area. As such, it is inaccurate to compare the situation in Ukraine with the conflict between Israel and Iran, given the involvement of allied forces.
This is how the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, explained the situation.
The chief European diplomat acknowledged that he is aware that Ukraine, which is also facing bombing and shelling, is criticizing its allies. He also stated that if he were in the position of the Ukrainian president, he would do the same.
"If I were in the place of President Zelensky, I would certainly also use the opportunity to mention that Ukraine is also being bombed and, perhaps, more effectively.
Only two days ago, Russia destroyed the most critical power plant that supplied electricity to Kyiv, and Ukraine was unable to prevent it due to a lack of ammunition," Borrell said.
However, as he noted, some things cannot be compared.
"Israel has an 'iron dome,' a steel dome that protects its airspace. It took many years to build and is very expensive.
Even if the EU had money in the box, it would still not be possible to build such a dome (over Ukraine) overnight," Borrel believes.
Additionally, the European diplomat stated that the Iranian assault occurred at the air bases belonging to France, the United States, Great Britain, and Jordan, and they were acting in self-defense.
"Secondly, Iran's strikes were carried out over the air bases of the armies of France, the United States, Great Britain, and Jordan – that is, the allies acted in self-defense.
This cannot happen in Ukraine. There are no UK or US – not to mention Jordan – air bases on Ukrainian territory or on the territory over which Russian missiles fly," said the European diplomat.
However, Borrell noted, "definitely, air defense supplies to Ukraine should be accelerated and strengthened."
"I hope that on Monday, we will be able to bring concrete decisions to the table by the member states that can do it. We have been working all week to get these decisions," Borrell said.
He specifically clarified that the focus is on ammunition for surface-to-air and anti-aircraft use rather than the necessity for 155 mm shells for ground artillery.
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It should be noted that the White House announced that the USA has given up any combat participation in the war in Ukraine, so it will not shoot down Iranian drones launched by Russia, as they and their allies did last weekend in Israel.
