Ukraine’s troops are numerically inferior to the Russians and have been hard pressed in the north-eastern and eastern parts of the country, where the Russians are trying to take the million city of Kharkiv.
In an interview with the Reuters news agency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he has tried to persuade the country’s allies in the West to help shoot down Russian missiles over Ukrainian territory – but that everything is going too slowly.
– Every decision that is made comes about a year too late, says Zelenskyj, who describes the delivery of the Patriot air defense system as a big step forward, but that before that two steps were taken backwards.
“Up with the NATO plan”
He goes on to go into the Russian superiority in the air.
– The Russians have 300 planes over Ukrainian territory. We need at least 120, 130 planes to resist in the air.
– If you can’t fix it now, you can use the plan that exists in the NATO countries. Up with them, shoot down missiles and protect civilians.
The answer about Trump
Zelenskyi also answered questions about the upcoming US presidential election, where Republican candidate Donald Trump is a critic of the expensive aid to Ukraine.
He says that despite this, he does not see a big risk with a change of president.
– I don’t think the Republicans are against sending aid to Ukraine, even though there have been some worrying statements from them, he says.