Zelenskyy seeks Patriot air defenses to thwart Russians near Kharkiv
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to allies to provide Ukraine with air-defense batteries to shield its second-biggest city as Russia launched a large-scale offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
“We need, today, two Patriots for Kharkiv,” Zelenskyy told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a meeting in Kyiv, referring to the U.S.-made antimissile defense system.
Blinken’s trip underscores U.S. support after delays in military aid forced Ukraine to ration munitions and prompted fears the U.S. would abandon its partner. Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. government for its provision of a “crucial package,” which is valued at $61 billion.
Reinforcements have been sent to stabilize the northeastern front line as President Vladimir Putin’s troops try to push the contact line deeper into the region after weeks of intensified air strikes on Ukraine’s second-biggest city.
The U.S. and its partners aim to ensure Ukraine’s near-term success on the battlefield and its longterm self-sufficiency and economic viability, Blinken said, calling the latter “the best rebuke to Putin and the best possible guarantor” of Ukraine’s future.
Russia has deployed a significant force of up to five battalions, equivalent to about 2,000 soldiers, in a drive toward the northeastern town of Vovchansk, Ukraine’s top military command said on Facebook on Monday. Russian success in driving Ukraine back in Kharkiv would put the Russian city of Belgorod and military strongholds and supply hubs in the surrounding area out of Ukrainian artillery range.
The assault is likely to stretch Ukraine’s already outgunned and outmanned forces as it may push Kyiv to redeploy some of its troops from the long front line in the east.