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‘What’s The Problem?’: Zelenskyy Says NATO Needs To ‘Shoot Down’ Russian Missiles In Ukraine’s Airspace

Published

1 year ago

5 minute read

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By JAKE SMITH

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday in an interview with The New York Times that member states of the NATO alliance need to step up their involvement in Kyiv’s ongoing war against Russia.

NATO, a transatlantic defense alliance comprised of European Union (EU) nations and the United States, has provided military aid to Ukraine’s ongoing fight against Russia but has thus far refrained from getting directly involved in the conflict. Zelenskyy bemoaned during his interview on Tuesday NATO’s resistance to providing more direct support in the conflict and said the alliance needs to start shooting down Russian missiles flying inside Ukrainian airspace.

Zelenskyy claimed that NATO wouldn’t be at risk of getting into a combat scenario with Russia, because any alliance involvement would be purely defensive, according to the Times.

“What’s the problem? Why can’t we shoot them down? Is it defense? Yes. Is it an attack on Russia? No. Are you shooting down Russian planes and killing Russian pilots? No. So what’s the issue with involving NATO countries in the war? There is no such issue,” Zelenskyy told the Times on Tuesday. “Shoot down what’s in the sky over Ukraine. And give us the weapons to use against Russian forces on the borders.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed that he does not wish for conflict with NATO but is ready for it, should the alliance choose to intervene directly in the war.

“Everything is possible in the modern world,” Putin told reporters in March, when asked about the possibility of a conflict between NATO and Russia. “It is clear to everyone, that this will be one step away from a full-scale World War Three. I think hardly anyone is interested in this.”

Moscow has gone as far as to raise the specter of nuclear war if NATO members choose to send troops into Ukraine to fight on Kyiv’s behalf, a possibility previously raised by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Zelenskyy also urged NATO Tuesday to send more military aid to bolster Ukraine’s defense against Russian advances. Russia has gained ground in recent months in key locations along the northeastern theater of the war, including the city of Avdiivka and regions near Donetsk and Kharkiv.

“Can we get seven?” Zelenskyy said, referring to Patriot air defense systems, telling the Times that Ukraine needed more than that number but would make do with what was available to protect key regions. He suggested an agreement might be reached during the NATO summit in July.

“Do you think it is too much for the NATO anniversary summit in Washington? For a country that is fighting for freedom and democracy around the world today?” Zelenskyy told the Times.

The U.S. recently approved a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, including $14 billion for the direct purchase of weapons and munitions and $23 billion for replenishing the U.S.’ weapons stockpile, which can be transferred to foreign allies through the presidential drawdown authority.

Defense experts and former U.S. officials previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation that even with additional aid, Ukraine may not be any closer to achieving victory. Ukraine has suffered heavy manpower and armament losses as Russia’s military has resurged to full capacity.

“I think there’s not enough money available, either in this bill or in a much larger one, to help Ukraine achieve their goals of retaking all their territory or even go on offense in a sustained way,” Benjamin Friedman, policy director at Defense Priorities, previously told the DCNF. “So in a sense, moving forward is beyond their grasp, even if we give them a lot more weapons.”

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Artificial Intelligence

AI Drone ‘Swarms’ Unleashed On Ukraine Battlefields, Marking New Era Of Warfare

Published on September 2, 2025

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Wallace White

Artificial intelligence-powered drones are making their first appearances on the battlefield in the Russia-Ukraine war as warfare creeps closer to full automation.

In bombardments on Russian targets in the past year, Ukrainian drones acting in concert were able to independently determine where to strike without human input.

It’s the first battlefield use of AI “swarm” technology in a real-world environment, a senior Ukrainian official and Swarmer, the company who makes the software, told the Wall Street Journal in a Tuesday report. While drones have increasingly defined modern battlefields, swarms until now had been confined to testing rather than combat.

“You set the target and the drones do the rest,” Swarmer Chief Executive Serhii Kupriienko told the WSJ. “They work together, they adapt.”

So far, the Swarmer technology has been used hundreds of times to target Russia assets, but was first used a year ago to lay mines on the front, the Ukrainian official told the WSJ. The software has been tested with up to 25 drones at once, but is usually utilized with only three.

Kupriienko told the WSJ that he was preparing to test up to 100 drones at once with the linking software.

A common arrangement used on the battlefield includes one reconnaissance drone to scout out the target and two explosive drones delivering the payload on target, the official told the WSJ.

While Western nations such as the U.S., France and the United Kingdom are also pursuing drone swarm technology, they have not deployed swarm technology on the battlefield the way Ukraine has, according to the WSJ. Currently, autonomous weapons are not regulated by any international authority or binding agreement, but ethical concerns around the technology has led many to call for increased regulation of weapons like the Swarmer system.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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conflict

Trump Pentagon Reportedly Blocking Ukraine From Firing Western Missiles Deep Into Russia

Published on August 25, 2025

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Harold Hutchison

The Department of Defense has spent months blocking the Ukrainian military from using American and British-made missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Eldridge Colby reportedly designed the procedure to review requests to carry out the long-range strikes with weapons that are either of U.S. origin or that require American intelligence or use components provided by the U.S., according to the WSJ. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly has the final say on whether Ukrainian forces can use the MGM-140 ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) to hit targets in Russia.

The reported blocks on missile strikes coincides with a Trump administration effort to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment further on the matter.

The Biden administration allowed Ukraine to carry out strikes with ATACMS in November, weeks after President Donald Trump won the 2024 election, the New York Times reported. Trump criticized the move during a December interview with Time magazine.

“It’s crazy what’s taking place. It’s crazy,” Trump said. “I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We’re just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done.”

Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska on Aug. 15 for a summit meeting during which Trump sought to secure a cease-fire in Russia’s war with Ukraine. As Trump greeted Putin, a B-2A Spirit stealth bomber and several fighters carried out a flyover of Elmendorf Air Force Base.

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and major European leaders on Aug. 18 to update them on the summit.

In July, Trump reached an agreement with NATO where members of the alliance would purchase weapons, including MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missiles, and donate them to Ukraine.

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