Politico: The US will not shoot down Russian missiles in Ukraine because of the threat of war with Russia

The United States does not plan to comply with Kyiv’s request to shoot down Russian missiles and drones in Ukraine’s airspace because of the threat of a nuclear conflict with Moscow, Politico writes, citing its sources.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the U.S. is engaged in repelling Iranian attacks against Israel, but at the same time refuses to use its armed forces to destroy Russian missiles. “The tough answer that Ukrainians may not like to hear but is unfortunately true is that we can take the risk of shooting down Iranian missiles over Israel without triggering direct war with Tehran that could lead to nuclear war,” a senior U.S. Senate aide told POLITICO. “There’s a lot more risk in trying that with Russia.” As reported, two Biden administration officials made the same point.

The newspaper also noted that in order to help Israel, Washington needs its ship-mounted air defense systems.

However, in order to destroy Russian missiles and drones in Ukraine’s airspace, which is significantly larger in area than Israel, the United States will have to send its ground-based air defense systems and fighters there. Such measures carry the risk of direct confrontation with the Russian armed forces, which the White House would like to avoid, Politico concludes.