Moscow aims to ‘flood’ Europe with another wave of refugees, Ukrainian PM says
Denys Shmyhal (Photo:Denys Shmyhal / Facebook)
By attacking the energy infrastructure of Ukraine, Russia is trying to 'flood' Europe with a new wave of refugees, Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal told French broadcaster TF-1 on Dec. 12.
Shmyhal was arguing for Ukraine to be given access to Patriot anti-air systems, suggesting the batteries are needed to protect the country from Russian attacks, which routinely leave millions of Ukrainian without power, water, or heating.
Germany offered its Patriot systems to Poland – after a missile crashed in Przewodów, near the border with Ukraine on Nov. 15, during a Russian large-scale missile strike on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.
Warsaw then appealed to Germany to send Patriot batteries to Ukraine, instead, arguing that would provide greater security to both Poland and Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said that Patriot systems are meant to protect NATO airspace, therefore the consent of all allies is required to transfer them to Ukraine.
Eventually, the option to deploy Patriots to Ukraine was rejected by Berlin.
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