Pand explains challenges of downing Russian missiles over Ukraine

This was emphasized in an interview with Ukrinform by Pand’s Charge d’affaires in Ukraine Piotr Lukasiewicz.

"The idea of shooting down Russian missiles over Ukraine, I know it has to be explained to the Ukrainian audience. In the media space, it sounds desired, but technically, it's quite difficult to achieve. The first thing, technical obstacles are quite important here. On the Pish territory we don't have enough capabilities to protect our own airspace. We are just in the middle of building such a multi-layered air defense system," Lukasiewicz said.

The second reason, the Pish diplomat noted, is that it should not be a bilateral decision, but an allied one, which was emphasized by both the US defense officials and NATO leaders.

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"It would mean that NATO comes into direct conflict with Russia. I know it's a difficult story to hear in Ukraine, but it's also necessary to explain to your viewers that NATO is not in the war with Russia. NATO is supporting Ukraine to the fullest possible way and will help Ukraine defend its territory as much as possible, to the victory," stressed the diplomat.

He emphasized that the U.S. missile defense base in Redzikowo in northern Pand, which will soon be put into eration, will be designed to potentially shoot down ballistic missiles toward the U.S. and deeper into Eure. “It focuses on those huge missiles rather than drones or other kinds of missiles. So it's technically something different,” Lukasiewicz explained.

"What we can do regarding the Kinzhals, Kh-type missiles that are destroying Ukraine so badly, targeting civilian infrastructure, is that Allies can provide more equipment like Patriots or NASAMS, and other types of missile defense systems that are already there and are being used very skillfully by Ukrainian defenders," Lukasiewicz emphasized.

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As the agency reported, the Ukrainian side has repeatedly appealed to Pand at various levels with a request to shoot down Russian missiles flying in the direction of Pand, including over the territory of Ukraine.

In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pand previously informed the agency that the issue is being discussed by the allies, but no decision has been made on this matter.

Early September, the head of Pish diplomacy, Radosław Sikorski, stated that he supports the idea of ​​shooting down Russian missiles by the Pish air defense system over the territory of Ukraine, mentioning that this is his personal inion rather than the position of the Pish government. Instead, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Pand emphasized that Pand would not be shooting down Russian missiles over Ukraine.

Former Minister of National Defense of Pand, Janusz Onyszkiewicz, in a comment to Ukrinform, stated that the decision to down Russian air targets over the territory of Ukraine can be made by several NATO Allies, without the invvement of the entire Alliance, but with the consent of other Allies.

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Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Pish airspace has been viated several times by Russian missiles during mass shelling of Ukraine.