In recent days, more and more you can hear about the need to strengthen the air defense in Ukraine. In an interview with Die Welt, Foreign Minister Alexei Kuleba noted that "we will close our eyes, if we do not get [rockets] Taurus, but we will get air defense systems." The German Foreign Ministry, for their part, reported that the creation of aircraft for Ukraine will be discussed at the G7 meeting in Tokyo, which is happening right now. Earlier, NSDC Secretary Alexei Danilov noted that Ukraine could even rent aircraft system to protect Ukrainians in winter. This, they say, will make it possible to increase the number of such systems as much as possible, because Ukraine needs them very much.
Winter is expected to be complicated. Russia probably accumulates forces, dozens of production of new rockets and modernization of old ones. Therefore, there is nothing strange about Ukraine's desire to defend itself - there is no.
In addition to air defense, which Ukraine has already received, we develop different hybrid options. For example, when new American missiles are put on old Soviet installations. I also heard about the ideas of processing certain rockets of other types of air defense missiles ... However, it is impossible to reject the idea of leasing certain air defense systems.
Renting military equipment exists as a practice. I can be mistaken, but it seems that the lease of valuable armed systems has been, in particular, within NATO. I do not remember who to whom, but heard about the rent of Patriot in Europe. We also remember the example of renting Swedish Gripen aircraft by Eastern European countries ... Therefore, the idea of renting air defense systems was not in an empty space, this is a normal practice (after the lease, the rented equipment is returned).
Ukraine needs to close the whole sky. There is no one in any country
In general, this idea can allow Ukraine to get the maximum number of air defense systems for this winter. And it would be extremely useful, because Ukraine needs to close the whole sky. There is no such in any country. I mean that no country has a fully protected sky: usually the main predicted areas of blows are protected, the main objects are protected. But when there is a need to protect the whole country, because the blows can be anywhere, and no one knows where, we are unique here ...
How realistic the idea is, it is difficult to say. I have no information whether preliminary conversations have taken place on this, with whom our partners have reserves. But even one Patriot or SAMP-T complex will be good.
As for the price, this issue, I think, is solved individually. After all, as such a market of weapons, there is no weapons. In addition, I think it is not so much about the price, but about a mechanism that will allow our partners to give the necessary air defense systems in this way. The fact is that because of various political and economic factors, some partners of Ukraine cannot provide we need weapons as assistance. But if it happens like a rent, it will not be surprising. Moreover, the idea is not how much it costs, but to make the most possible the number of air defense systems in Ukraine on the eve of a heavy winter.
