Patriot missiles part of £4.8bn aid package for Ukraine
◆ Move follows divided US Congress finally passing multi-billion foreign support deal as Washington works with allies to bolster Kyiv
The US will provide Ukraine with additional Patriot missiles for its air defence systems as part of a massive $6 billion (£4.8bn) additional aid package, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin announced yesterday.
The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot air defence systems.
They are part of a package that also includes more munitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and additional gear to integrate Western air defence launchers, missiles and radars into Ukraine’s existing weaponry, much of which still dates back to previous Soviet-era systems.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the need for Patriots early yesterday at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathering virtually in a Pentagon-led meeting.
The meeting fell on the second anniversary of the group, which Mr Austin said has “moved heaven and earth” since April 2022 to source millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armoured vehicles and even jets to help Ukraine rebuff Russia’s invasion.
Mr Zelensky said at least seven Patriot systems are needed to protect Ukrainian cities.
“We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them,” he said.
“This is what can and should save lives right now.”
At a Pentagon press conference following the meeting, Mr Austin said the US was continuing to work with allies to resource additional Patriot systems but did not commit to sending more US versions.
“It’s not just Patriot that they need, they need other types of systems and interceptors as well,” he said.
“I would caution us all in terms of making Patriot the silver bullet.”
US officials said the aid package will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which pays for longer-term contracts with the defence industry and means that it could take many months or years for the weapons to arrive.
The new funding – the largest tranche of USAI aid sent to date – also includes the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) as well as Switchblade and Puma drones, counter drone systems and artillery.
The Ukraine Defence Contact Group has been meeting about monthly for the past two years and is the primary forum for weapons contributions to Kyiv for the war.
Yesterday’s meeting follows the White House decision earlier this week to approve the delivery of $1bn in weapons and equipment to Ukraine.
Those weapons include a variety of ammunition, such as air defence munitions and large amounts of artillery rounds that are much in demand by Ukrainian forces, as well as armoured vehicles and other weapons.
That aid, however, will get to Ukraine quickly because it is being pulled off Pentagon shelves, including in warehouses in Europe.
The large back-to-back packages are the result of the new infusion of about $61bn in funding for Ukraine that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
And they provide weapons Kyiv desperately needs to stall gains being made by Russian forces in the war.
Bitterly divided members of Congress deadlocked over the funding for months, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson to cobble together a bipartisan coalition to pass the Bill.
The $95bn foreign aid package, which also included billions of dollars for Israel and Taiwan, passed the House on Saturday, and the Senate
approved it on Tuesday. Senior US officials have described dire battlefield conditions in Ukraine, as troops run low on munitions and Russian forces make gains.
Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, the US has sent more than $44bn worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine.
Among the weapons provided to Ukraine were Abrams M1A1 battle tanks.
But Ukraine has now side lined them in part because russian dr one warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two US military officials said.
The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.
Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the UK Ministry of Defence said yesterday.
In Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital yesterday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.
Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.
In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said the claim was “a lie and provocation”.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.
“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.
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Patriot systems are needed to protect Ukrainian cities