Sergiy Kyslytsya: Ukraine Needs PAC-3 Missiles, Russia Demands Donbas Withdrawal

Sergiy Kyslytsya, first deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, displays a photograph of soldier Artem Shevchenko, emphasizing the human cost of the conflict. Kyslytsya, known for his strong stance against Russia at the UN, joined Zelenskiy’s office in January, previously serving as Ukraine’s ambassador.

Kyslytsya hopes Ireland’s EU presidency will advance Ukraine’s accession treaty, warning about Russia’s diplomatic activities in Dublin. He previously sparked controversy in Dublin by suggesting geographical remoteness no longer protects countries like Ireland, inadvertently challenging Irish neutrality. He compares the sensitivity around security discussions to past attitudes towards birth control, stating, «Security is something you need to discuss, but which makes you very nervous.»

Kyslytsya participated in trilateral negotiations with Russia and the US in Abu Dhabi, where Russia’s delegation included defense ministry and GRU representatives. Kyslytsya’s role was to ensure military-to-military talks adhered to Zelenskiy’s parameters, with the US committing to active participation in monitoring and verification. However, no agreement was reached because Russia insists on Ukraine withdrawing from the remainder of Donbas, a demand they reiterated for winter 2024-25 and summer 2025.

Kyslytsya refutes reports of explicit US pressure on Ukraine to cede Donbas. Instead, he describes implied pressure: the US offers security guarantees only if Ukraine makes a deal, suggesting Putin is solely interested in Ukraine pulling out of Donbas. Zelenskiy, however, is clear that Ukraine cannot cede Donbas due to constitutional constraints and its heavily fortified status. Kyslytsya estimates Russia would need at least two years and potentially over a million lives to take Donbas militarily, given current monthly losses of 30,000-35,000 dead and wounded.

He condemns French and German proposals for «membership lite» in the EU as «segregation» and «legalised discrimination,» advocating for full membership. Negotiations with the US and Russia were halted by the US-Israeli attack on Iran, with Kyslytsya noting US fixation on Iran. He also laments that more PAC-3 Patriot missiles were used in the first week of the Middle East conflict than Ukraine has used in over four years, stressing Ukraine’s desperate need for these missiles to intercept Russian ballistic threats. Ukraine seeks PAC-3s from Gulf Arab nations following defense agreements.

Kyslytsya met inconclusively with US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Miami in March. He noted Kushner’s preparedness but did not mention Witkoff. These US negotiators have visited Moscow seven times but never Kyiv. Kyslytsya bought Kushner’s book, «Breaking History,» to verify Kushner’s account of the 2019 Trump-Zelenskiy phone call, which led to Trump’s first impeachment and his subsequent animosity towards Ukraine.