"Different threats": US explains why it will not help shoot down drones over Ukraine
The US does not intend to intervene in this conflict as a combatant, Kirby said
The United States and its allies will not be directly involved in the destruction of drones attacking Ukraine from the Russian side.
This follows from a statement made by US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby at a briefing at the White House on Monday, 15 April, DW reports.
"If the United States and allies can help shoot down Iranian drones in the skies over Israel, why can't the same be done in the skies over Ukraine?" – a journalist asked Kirby.
The White House spokesman responded:
"Different conflicts, different airspace, different threat picture. And President Joe Biden has been clear from the very beginning of the conflict in Ukraine: The United States does not intend to intervene in this conflict as a combatant."
Earlier in the day, on 15 April, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, emphasising the effectiveness of Israel's defence thanks to the support of its international partners, said: "European skies could have received the same level of protection long ago if Ukraine had received the same full support from its partners in intercepting drones and missiles."
"Now we can see how unity can really work one hundred per cent and how almost one hundred per cent of the 'Shaheds' and missiles can be intercepted. We will discuss this with our partners," Zelenskyy tweeted.
On the night of 16 April, Republican Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives in the US Congress, said that this week the House would consider a separate bill to provide assistance to Ukraine and Israel.
On the night of 14 April, 170 drones, more than 120 ballistic missiles and more than 30 cruise missiles launched by Iran attempted to attack Israel. According to IDF spokesman Daniel Hagar, Israel and its allies managed to shoot down 99% of them, with the vast majority coming from outside the country. Only a few ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, hitting an airbase in the south, where "minor damage was done to the infrastructure".
It was also reported that half of the ballistic missiles launched by Iran at Israel were malfunctioning.
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