EU chief diplomat stresses Ukraine's urgent need for air defence systems after latest Russian missile attack

EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell has commented on Russia’s large-scale attack on Ukraine on 8 May, stressing that Ukraine urgently needs to strengthen its air defence systems.

Borrell said on Twitter (X) that the latest massive attack had added to the long list of war crimes committed by the Russian Federation.

"Ukraine urgently needs adequate air defence systems," he stressed.

He noted that strengthening Ukraine's air defence and setting up a military assistance fund for Ukraine will take priority at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting for defence ministers.

On the night of 7-8 May, the Russian Federation fired 55 missiles and 20 Shahed drones on energy infrastructure facilities in Lviv, Vinnytsia, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts.

The Russians attacked power generation and transmission facilities in six of Ukraine’s oblasts. The Russians hit three thermal power plants owned by DTEK, causing serious damage to their equipment.