Ukrainian Foreign Minister: "Russia Must Be Driven Out of the Sky"... Emphasizing Air Supremacy

Speech at Davos Forum
President Appeals for Military and Financial Support the Day Before

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, emphasized the importance of air superiority, stating that "driving Russia out of the skies is the top priority in 2024."

Heavy machinery such as excavators are clearing debris under a building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, which was directly hit by a Russian missile.
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

Minister Kuleba said in a speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF, Davos Forum) held in Switzerland on the 17th (local time), "Whoever controls the skies can decide when and how the war will end." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also appealed for military and financial support at the WEF the day before, stressing, "Just as Ukraine has recently gained superiority in the Black Sea, we must also achieve superiority in the air."

Earlier, in June last year, the Ukrainian military launched a counteroffensive using missiles and firepower supported by the West but was blocked by Russian defenses and gained little ground. On December 29 last year, the Russian military carried out the largest airstrike since the beginning of the war, launching over 150 missiles and drones across Ukraine, causing massive damage. This pattern has continued into this year.

To change the course of the war, Ukraine is expected to focus on securing the promised F-16 fighter jets from the United States and various European countries over the past several months.