The Biden administration is reportedly working to send an additional Patriot air-defense battery to Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reported that the US is seeking to send a single battery along with radars, while Ukraine’s European allies are also planning to provide Kyiv with more air defense systems.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Washington Post in April about Ukraine’s need for air defense systems, expressing frustration, “I’m hitting the wall with my own head, although I’m a diplomat, and that means I have to dismantle the wall brick by brick,” Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Washington Post in April, expressing frustration over the lack of air defense supplies.
Kyiv had asked allies earlier in 2024 for at least seven additional air defense systems, with only Germany so far responding to that plea. “Patriots and other sophisticated air defenses – they do more than protect soldiers and save civilian lives,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Kyiv on 14 May, according to the report. “That’s why we’re working relentlessly with allies and partners to procure more air defense and to do it fast.”
The US has been urging allies to prioritize sending Patriots to Ukraine. “And beyond Patriots, we’re looking for other systems, as well, because we believe that there are a number of allies who have capabilities they could share,” said Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, as reported by Bloomberg.
