US poised to send Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine: Reports
Mike Brest
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The U.S. is preparing to approve sending a Patriot missile battery system to Ukraine, finally agreeing to one of Ukrainian officials’ top requests, according to multiple outlets.
Ukrainian officials have sought more advanced long-range air defense systems as Russian forces have used hundreds of Iranian drones to target the country’s critical infrastructure over the past couple of months.
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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin still has to approve the proposed deal before it goes to President Joe Biden, but the deal could be finalized as soon as this week, CNN reported. Once both approve of the plan, the Patriots are expected to ship shortly thereafter and Ukrainians would be trained on them at a U.S. Army base in Grafenwohr, Germany. The U.S. and other Western allies have trained Ukrainians on certain weapons systems provided to them previously.
The Patriot system, which is made by Raytheon, is one of the U.S.’s most advanced surface-to-air missile defense systems and is designed to track and intercept incoming ballistic and cruise missiles and aircraft.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters he didn’t “have anything to announce” during Tuesday’s briefing, though he said the Pentagon maintains “a robust dialogue with our Ukrainian partners, with our allies, and our international partners on Ukraine’s security assistance needs to include battlefield capabilities that they may need as well as air defense. And so, in light of Russia’s cruel and continued bombardment of innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, we’ll continue to have those discussions and look at capabilities that they’ll need to defend their territory. But again, I don’t have anything to announce today … So, as always, we will look at a full spectrum of security assistance and defensive capabilities that are available within our common inventories when we consider Ukraine’s needs.”
Over the last couple of months, Russian forces, using Iranian drones, have pummeled Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in what Western officials have described as an attempt to “weaponize winter” against millions of Ukrainian civilians who are uncertain about basic needs such as electricity, heat, and clean water. Some Western leaders have alleged that the continued strikes affecting civilians’ ways of life constitute war crimes.
A senior defense official told reporters late last month that “All capabilities are on the table” when asked if the administration was considering sending Patriot batteries to Ukraine. “Patriot is one of the air defense capabilities that is being considered along with all others.”
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken also declined to say at that time whether the U.S. would provide the Patriot systems to Ukraine, though he explained, “We’re working to make sure that the Ukrainians get those systems as quickly as possible but also as effectively as possible, making sure that they are trained on them, making sure they have the ability to maintain them, and all of that has to come together, and it is.“
The U.S. has sent Patriot missiles to NATO allies such as Poland as a way to bolster their defenses, while they have contributed nearly $20 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded last February.