Salvatore Merola

Zelensky: “Risponderemo a ogni attacco russo. La pressione globale su Mosca cala e le sanzioni cambiano. Per questo l’Ucraina ha le sue “sanzioni”: capacità a lungo raggio. Se non reagiamo, la Russia continuerà la guerra senza pause.”

The United States has reached out to us regarding their bases in Middle Eastern countries. We’ve also been approached by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait. We’re already working with some of them, and our expert teams are already on the ground, assessing the situation and sharing invaluable experience. Because no matter how many Patriots, THAADs, or other air defense systems are in the Middle East, that alone is not enough for fully effective air defense. There are modern interceptors designed to counter heavy drone strikes. Now, we are discussing future deliveries of certain equipment that Ukraine has. We want Middle Eastern countries to give us the opportunity to strengthen ourselves as well. They have some air defense missiles that we lack. We would like to reach agreements on this. Funding is the scarcest resource today. Our defense industry is currently operating at half capacity, and we need more financing to produce drones for ourselves. That’s why we are ready to sell to our partners the systems we have in surplus. And we’re not just selling – we’ll provide our expertise as well. Interceptor drones don’t work without our expertise. It’s the system that works. From an interview with Le Monde (1/5).

Russia is increasingly targeting civilian trains in Ukraine. In response, Ukrainian railways now halt trains and evacuate passengers during air raid alerts, with people sometimes waiting hours before travel can safely resume.