Comment contradicts earlier claims that Ukraine had asked Israel for the system. Reznikov says Ukraine needs to develop its own missile defense system.

Successful tests of the new Iron Dome weapons system, February 1, 2021 (photo credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY)
Successful tests of the new Iron Dome weapons system, February 1, 2021 (photo credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY)

 

Ukraine does not have a need for Iron Dome, the country’s defense minister said on Saturday, in a sharp break from comments previously made by Kyiv’s ambassador to Israel.

In June, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk said that Kyiv wants to purchase Israel’s Iron Dome air defenses system. “We need Israeli assistance… I mean that we need the military-technical support; we need Iron Dome,… which will allow us to save our civilian women and children from the shelling of the Russian missiles in our territory,” he said at the time.

On Saturday though, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told a Forbes summit that Iron Dome would not be suitable for the Ukraine.

 US DEFENSE SECRETARY Lloyd Austin speaks, as he sits between US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, at a Ukraine Defense Contact group meeting in Brussels, last month (credit: YVES HERMAN/REUTERS)
US DEFENSE SECRETARY Lloyd Austin speaks, as he sits between US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, at a Ukraine Defense Contact group meeting in Brussels, last month (credit: YVES HERMAN/REUTERS)

 

“We all know the example of Israel, which protects the sky quite well. We all know the name Iron Dome, but even it does not give 100% protection. In fact I’ve been to Israel and talked to their manufacturers and state enterprises,” Reznikov said. “Iron Dome was built [for protection] against slow, low-altitude, low-impact missiles that were basically made in garages. Iron Dome does not protect against cruise and ballistic missiles.”

The comments by Reznikov were first reported by Yahoo News.

As reported by The Jerusalem Post