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What Ukraine and Poland signalled on security in spring 2018
Summary
Three reports from late March 2018 show how Ukraine and its neighbour Poland were dealing with missiles, sanctions and the aftermath of a poisoning.
What did security news around Ukraine look like on 3 April 2018? The reports circulating in the days before that date point to three separate threads: missile purchases, sanctions enforcement and reaction to a poisoning in Britain.
Poland buys Patriots
On 28 March 2018, Poland signed a deal with the United States to buy a Patriot missile system worth US$4.75 billion.
Kyiv and the Kh-31
On 30 March 2018, the government of Ukraine stated that it had expelled two Iranians earlier that year. According to Kyiv, the two had tried to buy a Kh-31 missile in the Ukrainian capital, in violation of United Nations sanctions.
Reaction to the Skripal poisoning
Also on 28 March 2018, reactions continued to the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal. Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, himself the victim of a poisoning in September 2004, called for military action against Russia to be considered.
Taken together, the reports show Warsaw adding to its air defences, Kyiv publicly stating that it had acted against an attempted missile purchase, and a former Ukrainian president speaking out on the Skripal case.
