Ukraine has long been asking for reinforcements for its air defenses in the war against Russia. Several NATO partners are now complying with this request at the anniversary summit in Washington.
The USA and other NATO countries want to supply Ukraine with additional equipment to defend against Russian air attacks. US President Joe Biden announced this at a ceremony in Washington to mark the 75th anniversary of the defense alliance. In a joint statement by the USA and several partners, there was also talk of “additional” Patriot air defense systems.
In addition, dozens of tactical air defense systems – such as Nasams or Iris-T – are to be sent to Kiev, it said. “These systems will further expand and strengthen Ukraine’s air defense.” The joint statement came from the USA, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Italy, among others.
Biden said in his speech to the heads of state and government that Ukraine should also receive hundreds of additional interceptors over the next year to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian missiles.
In recent months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had urgently warned that more Patriot systems were needed to protect Ukrainian cities and metropolitan areas.
The US has already provided Ukraine with a Patriot system. Biden approved the delivery about a year and a half ago, when Zelenskyy traveled to the US for his first foreign trip since the start of Russia’s war of aggression. The US government also regularly supplies Ukraine with Patriot missiles.
According to its own statements, Kiev has so far received a total of four Patriot systems. Three of them were provided by Germany. Another was promised by Romania, among others.
The Patriot anti-aircraft missile system is one of the most modern in the world. It is used to combat enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. The anti-aircraft missiles can hit targets in an imaginary bell around the position at a distance of around 100 kilometers and at altitudes of up to 30 kilometers – depending on the guided missile used. The Patriot system first uses a radar to classify which flying objects in the sky belong to the enemy. In the event of a threat, soldiers in the control center fire the guided missiles to render the targets harmless.
The war in Ukraine is one of the main topics at the NATO summit in Washington. The heads of state and government of the 32 member states of the defense alliance are celebrating NATO’s 75th anniversary there.
The meeting comes at the height of the US election campaign. Presidential elections will be held in the US in November. After his TV debacle against challenger Donald Trump, Biden is fighting on all fronts to save his candidacy for the election. He had a disastrous performance in the evening TV debate a week ago, making several mistakes and losing the thread. After the appearance, a debate flared up in the US on a whole new scale about whether Biden is the right candidate for the Democrats in the presidential election in November.
