(Dan Tri) – Britain and some countries helped Israel shoot down Iranian missiles and drones, but could not support Ukraine in intercepting such Russian targets.
Israel’s air defense system intercepted Iranian missiles and drones on April 14 (Photo: Reuters).
In an interview with LBC news site on April 15, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that the British Air Force cannot assist Ukraine in shooting down Russian drones and missiles as it helped Israel disrupt the attack.
He explained that pushing NATO forces into a direct confrontation with Russia would escalate the conflict.
`If you want to avoid escalating and spreading hostilities in Europe, what needs to be avoided is NATO troops directly engaging Russia,` Mr. Cameron said.
He added that using fighter jets is not always the ideal choice to shoot down missiles and drones because air defense systems work better.
Ukraine is seriously lacking an air defense system when aid from the West has been stalled for many months.
In the early morning of April 14, Iran launched 170 drones and more than 150 missiles of all types aimed at Israel.
Israel announced that its army along with allies in the area intercepted 99% of Iran’s missiles and drones.
`Most of these weapons were shot down before reaching Israeli territory. Only a few missiles made it past the air defense system, causing insignificant damage at Netavim air base,` the spokesman said.
US military officials announced that the country’s forces in the Middle East shot down more than 70 Iranian drones and 6 ballistic missiles.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine also needs protection like Israel, which is not a member of NATO.
`This doesn’t necessarily mean triggering Article 5, just the political will is enough,` he said.
Article 5 of the NATO Charter is the provision on collective defense.
The West has provided military aid to Ukraine since the early days of the conflict.