Foreign Minister Kuleba Calls Ukraine Need Transformer And Air Defense

The meeting of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba with the Foreign Minister of NATO countries. (Twitter/@DmytroKuleba)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his country needed transformers and increased air defense capabilities, as Russia stepped up its airstrikes against Kyiv's energy infrastructure facilities.

He told foreign ministers Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden, the day before the NATO foreign minister's meeting in Bucharest today and tomorrow.

"To restore the system, we need two things," Foreign Minister Kuleba told a news conference.

"We need a transformer. This is the greatest element of energy infrastructure that must be restored. And we need air defenses that allow us to shoot down Russian missiles that target our infrastructure."

"But it's also important to have a delegation like this in Ukraine. So to our colleagues, thank you," he said.

The ministers issued a joint statement after their talks, calling for efforts to increase Ukraine's air defenses.

They said sovereignty and equal status of all countries would be threatened unless Russia faced a firm response to its attacks.

Earlier, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told Reuters in an interview that Western countries needed to increase their support for Kyiv.

"The strongest message from this visit is that Ukraine needs to win this war and therefore Western support must be stronger, more heavy weaponry without political warning, also including long-range missiles," Reinsalu said.

He called for a stronger package of sanctions against Russia for greater international isolation of Moscow and the formation of an "international crackdown on the crimes of aggression" by Russia.

Meanwhile, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said, "We are in Kyiv today in full solidarity with Ukraine. Despite the rain of Russian bombs and barbaric brutality, Ukraine will win!"

Separately, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on Twitter that ministers had "discussed tightening sanctions, reconstruction of energy infrastructure & financial support. Disrupt support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations."

Russia released its latest series of missile attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure last Wednesday, causing blackouts across the country.