Danger of War, 15 European Countries Willing to Buy Air Protection Systems

Fifteen European countries announced Thursday that they would jointly buy air defence systems to protect the continent.

Germany, which led the project, will co-ordinate joint procurements to protect against nearby missiles, as well as long and medium-range, the defence ministry said.

Fourteen of the countries involved in this project -- Belgium, Bulgaria, Chekhia, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Holland, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and the United Kingdom -- are NATO members.

Meanwhile, part of the project will be Finland, which has applied to be part of the transatlantic military coalition (NATO).

The announcement came just hours after Great Britain and France announced they are increasing their shipments of air defence systems to Ukraine after a wave of Russian missile attacks against Ukrainian cities earlier this week. Germany has also supplied Kiev with numerous systems I RIS-T.

Deputy Secretary General NATO Mircea Geoanão welcomed the establishment of the initiative.

NATO's “New targets, fully interoperable and integrated without problems within NATO's air and missile defence, will significantly enhance our ability to protect the Alliance from all air and missile threats,” he added.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has prompted a “rivendosje” of NATO's position with Allies sending more skills to the east, including combat aircraft, warships and troops. /Euronews. al