Russian ballistic missiles will reach Paris in 12 minutes: how Ukraine helps Europe rethink security approaches
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine and Europe must receive protection that matches potential threats.
Russia is betting on ballistic missiles, as President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly emphasized. And this "argument" may reach not only Ukraine. European countries have begun to realize the need to rethink their approaches to their own defense, writes UNN.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently stated that soon Russian ballistic missiles will be able to strike at a distance of 5,000 kilometers.
"It is true that Russia has very powerful ballistic missiles and that they have, or will soon have, the ability to launch them 5,000 kilometers. It is only a matter of time," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
He added that Russia already has missiles that can reach any European city.
One of the features of ballistic missiles is that they leave a very short window for response.
"And although the average time a ballistic missile needs to reach the Ukrainian capital is between two and five minutes maximum, to Warsaw it is seven minutes, to Berlin eight minutes, and to Paris a maximum of 12 minutes. The difference is not that big," said Iryna Terekh, CEO and CTO of the Ukrainian defense company Fire Point, in an interview with Euronews.
At the same time, she emphasized that the motivating factor should not be the threat, but the desire to build a comprehensive ecosystem that would allow for a proper response to threats. This is precisely the basis of the European anti-ballistic system FREYJA, the creation of which was initiated by Ukraine and to which nine European countries have joined.
"We need to create a product that matches the threat we face," explains Iryna Terekh.
This anti-ballistic system, according to the representative of Fire Point, is a complete rethinking of airspace defense.
"FREYJA is not an offensive system. It is clearly a defensive system. We are thinking about defense, it is a completely different narrative, which makes it easier to accept," explains Terekh.
The anti-ballistic system will be based on components from leading European defense companies – for example, command posts from Saab or HENSOLDT radars. But everything will be built around a Ukrainian development – the FP-7.x interceptor missile from Fire Point.
Since the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine has made significant progress in developing its own defense capabilities, and is already ready to offer the world not only its technologies, but also a rethinking of approaches to defense and warfare, in particular by simplifying a number of bureaucratic procedures for faster deployment of new weapons systems. As Iryna Terekh stated, bureaucracy is a threat no less than the threat from, for example, Russia.
European partners in FREYJA, according to Terekh, have begun to fully support the project's advancement and overcoming bureaucratic obstacles. This gives hope for rapid progress in the project's implementation.
"Since we have been preparing for work at the b2b level for quite some time, we see commitment, effort, and interest. I am confident that with the support of leadership, we will be able to overcome bureaucracy much faster," Terekh believes.
She emphasizes their desire to build a sustainable defense ecosystem.
"The system, the technology must outlast any political cycle, any changes that occur, because if the system is built correctly, it is very resilient. We are trying to build a sustainable defense ecosystem," says the CEO of Fire Point and emphasizes that real support from partners is more important than the Budapest Memorandum.