An extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the level of Permanent Representatives was held at NATO Headquarters, focusing on strengthening Ukraine’s air and missile defence capabilities. Convened at Ukraine’s request and chaired by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the meeting took place ahead of the upcoming Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting in the Ramstein format.

Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defence for European Integration Sergiy Boyev and newly appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Acting Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Brigadier General Serhii Sobko, provided Allies with a detailed assessment of the current air threats and outlined Ukraine’s most urgent and priority air and missile defence needs.

In her opening remarks, Head of the Mission of Ukraine to NATO Alona Getmanchuk stressed that the current intensity of Russian strikes makes strengthening Ukraine’s air defence a matter directly linked to protecting human lives.

“At no point during the full-scale war have additional air-defence capabilities been more directly about protecting human lives than they are today. The latest attacks demonstrate that we must now move from what is politically possible to what is operationally necessary — and we must do so quickly.”

The Head of Mission also noted NATO member states’ commitment to provide Ukraine with EUR 70 billion in defence support this year and expressed confidence that the remaining resources needed to reach this target would be mobilised by the end of the year.

“Our message today is therefore about urgency, but also about political resolve: protect Ukraine’s skies, strengthen Ukraine’s position, and shorten the path towards ending this war.”

The Ukrainian side also stressed that strengthening Ukraine’s air defence directly serves the security interests of the Alliance itself.

“The logic is simple: just as a Russian soldier killed or severely wounded in Ukraine will never reach NATO territory, a Russian drone or missile destroyed over Ukraine will never reach a NATO country either,” Alona Getmanchuk stressed, noting that Russia is deliberately turning air attacks into an instrument of constant pressure on Ukrainian society.