NATO countries helped repel Israel's combined drone and missile attack. Find out how they did it and why they cannot apply a similar strategy when russia launches massive attacks on Ukrainian territory

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On the night of April 14, Iran launched a massive attack on Israel using about three hundred weapons, including kamikaze drones and missiles. Israeli authorities said that they managed to "intercept and block" the attack, and that the damage to some targets was minor. The country's defense forces also noted that 99% of the launched drones were destroyed before they reached the country's airspace. However, as we know, Israel did not repel the attack alone.

Read here for signs that Europe is preparing for war.

US and UK aircraft helped Israel repel Iran's attack: how did it happen?

According to Reuters, citing three U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, the U.S. military shot down Iranian drones headed for Israel. However, they did not disclose details about the number of targets downed or the location of the aircraft. A little later, the details were revealed by the British Sky News, which reported that US and British warplanes had shot down several Iranian drones over the Iraqi-Syrian border. Finally, the operation of the aircraft in the Middle East was confirmed by UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps and US President Joe Biden.

Thus, Shepps said that "jets and aerial refueling tankers have been deployed to the Middle East to support Op Shader, the UK's ongoing operation against Daesh in Iraq and Syria" and added that they "will intercept air attacks within range of our missions." Biden noted that the United States "helped Israel shoot down almost everything."

At the same time, Ukraine suffers almost daily from similar attacks by russia using kamikaze drones and missiles of various types, both ballistic, cruise and supersonic. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, direct damage to civilian and critical infrastructure as of January 2024 is estimated at at least $135 billion. However, even when air targets cross Ukraine's western borders and enter the airspace of NATO member states, Western aviation does not defend its own territory or help Ukraine repel attacks.

"Without US help, Ukraine will lose" - read the details of Zelenskyy's high-profile statement here.

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Why can't the US and UK help Ukraine repel attacks like Israel?

Both the United States and the United Kingdom have officially stated that they will not help Ukraine repel russian attacks. According to the White House National Security Council's Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby, the situations in Ukraine and Israel are fundamentally different. These are "different conflicts, different airspace, different threat patterns," he emphasized. He added that "from the very beginning of the conflict, the president (Biden - ed.) made it clear that the United States does not plan to participate in hostilities in Ukraine.

In addition, Kirby noted that the United States provides Ukraine with the weapons it needs to protect its airspace, but the United States currently does not have "the additional national security funding that Ukrainians need so badly" and the best solution would be to "put the aid in the hands of the Israeli Defense Forces and the Ukrainian military and pass the bill that the Senate passed."

At the same time, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron made a more specific statement, emphasizing that London cannot help Ukraine to prevent a direct clash between NATO troops and the russian army.

"I think the difficulty is that... if you want to avoid a wider war in Europe, I think the one thing you need to avoid is a direct clash between NATO troops and russian troops. That would be a danger of escalation," he said, adding that Ukraine needs air defense systems, such as Patriot, to effectively shoot down targets, but the UK does not have them. We previously reported here on whether Ukraine has run out of air defense missiles.

We remind you! Macron proposes to introduce an Olympic truce, including in Ukraine. The Olympic truce is a centuries-old tradition that was invented by the Greeks in the early days of our era. Later, the idea was supported by the United Nations, which called on countries to implement truces during the Olympics. However, in modern history, there are few examples of warring states stopping fighting during the Games. Read what exactly Macron proposes and who he wants to involve to put pressure on russia to agree to a temporary ceasefire in our previous article.

Photo: RBK-Ukraine