EU lacks air defenses Ukraine needs, Bulgarian prime minister says

Bulgaria's prime minister, Rumen Radev, said the European Union does not currently have the air-defense systems that Ukraine needs, adding that member states have already transferred all the equipment they had available to send.

Radev's comments point to a shortfall in air-defense capacity among EU countries at a time when Ukraine continues to face air and missile attacks and has repeatedly appealed to its allies for more systems to protect its cities and infrastructure.

According to Radev, European states have largely exhausted their spare air-defense stocks, having already sent what they could to Ukraine over the course of the war. That leaves a gap between what Kyiv is requesting and what allies are currently able to supply.

The shortage highlighted by Radev reflects a broader challenge facing European governments, many of which have drawn down their own air-defense reserves to support Ukraine while also facing pressure to maintain adequate stocks for their own security needs.

Air defense has been one of Ukraine's most consistent requests to Western partners throughout the war, as Russian strikes have repeatedly targeted power infrastructure, cities and military positions. Kyiv's allies have periodically pledged additional systems, though officials in several countries have acknowledged that production and availability have not always kept pace with demand.

It was not immediately clear whether the EU or individual member states plan to ramp up production or explore other options to address the shortfall Radev described.