Strengthening of air defense is a priority of Ukraine's military-technical cooperation with its partners, Turchynov

Strengthening of the air defense assets is a priority direction for expansion of military-technical cooperation with strategic partners for Ukraine. And we have some substantial gains in this area, says Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov.

"If we are talking about further expansion of military-technical cooperation, then strengthening of air defense, which was damaged the most in the days of Yanukovych and his predecessors, is the priority for us. Modern defense systems are needed to protect the country", O.Turchynov told Interfax-Ukraine in an exclusive interview.

According to him, Ukraine has serious legacy in this area, "but it is very difficult to solve this problem quickly and efficiently without cooperation with our strategic partners".

The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine stressed that strengthening air defense is very important for the leadership of the state, since the possibility of Air Force employment by Russia in case of aggravation of the military conflict is not excluded.

"The large-scale conflict, first of all, will differ from the situation in eastern Ukraine by employment of the Russian Federation Aerospace Forces (or VKS), in particular, assault aircraft and cruise missiles. And for us the topic of air defense, protection of vital strategic objects of the country from this threat is very important. We are studying in detail the large-scale use of Russia's VKS in Syria, their strengths and weaknesses, and understand how serious this threat can be", said O.Turchynov.