(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Oleksandr Merezhko, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation, told this to Ukrinform, commenting on the European Political Community summit taking place in Copenhagen.

"It is extremely important that European leaders fully realize that Russia is waging a hybrid war against Europe, and one of the tools of this war is drones. Therefore, there must be a response, there must be an adequate answer, and here Ukraine can not only share its experience, but also serve as a real shield against the hybrid war that Russia is waging against European countries," he said.

Merezhko added that it was critically important to return to the idea of closing the airspace over Ukraine, which would be the best wall of protection against Russian drones.

"Russian drones must be shot down in Ukraine's airspace, because this minimizes the risk that sooner or later they will once again end up over the territory of European and NATO countries," he said.

According to Merezhko, Ukraine's air defense system needs to be strengthened. He noted that while it has already demonstrated high effectiveness, it remains under enormous pressure due to Russian attacks.

"We see that Russia is doing everything possible to break our air defense system: it is intensifying its attacks and wants to bring the number of missiles and drones used against Ukraine to the hundreds. And although our air defense system today is quite effective, we still see the need to reinforce it, and to do so, we need additional assistance from our partners and allies, including Patriot systems, which have proven their effectiveness," the MP said.

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He also added that security issues could be addressed by using Russian assets located in Europe. One possible option, he said, was a "reparations loan."

"We need to resolve the issue of Russian funds in Europe. Not only freezing them, but finding a way to transfer these funds to Ukraine. There are different options, including a sort of reparations loan. Legal, economic, and political mechanisms are being sought to ensure the transfer of these funds to Ukraine," Merezhko said.

On October 2, Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said on the sidelines of the Copenhagen summit that Ukraine's experience in countering hybrid threats could be valuable for strengthening Europe's security.

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