Poland calls on EU to build joint air-defence system

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said the European Union should mobilize at least 100 billion euros ($108 billion) on defence as he warned about Russian advances in Ukraine.

Speaking in the southern Polish city of Katowice on May 7 alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Tusk also called for a joint continent-wide air defence system, per Bloomberg.

“A lot of money spent well and wisely on Europe’s security will keep the war away from Europe’s borders for a long time,” Tusk told an economic conference. “Maybe permanently.”

Poland’s premier has been ramping up calls for more defence spending as the war in Ukraine stretches into its third year, with Kyiv forces increasingly outgunned on the battlefield. Warsaw has already said it wants to join the so-called European Sky Shield Initiative, which currently includes 21 countries.