The United States will provide Ukraine with Patriot missiles for its air-defense systems as part of a massive $6 billion additional aid package, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on April 26 after a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot air-defense systems, Austin said in the announcement, which came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the countries in the contact group to provide additional defense systems to create an air shield against further Russian missile attacks.
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In addition to Patriot missiles, the $6 billion package includes more munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, (NASAMS) and additional equipment to integrate Western air-defense launchers, missiles, and radars into Ukraine's existing weaponry.
Zelenskiy raised Ukraine’s need for U.S.-made Patriot air-defense systems earlier on April 26 during a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, also known as the Ramstein Format.
Austin said in his opening comments to the meeting that everyone in the contact group shares Zelenskiy's sense of urgency, and he announced $1 billion worth of assistance to Ukraine, including HIMARS, 155-millimeter ammunition, air-defense interceptors, and armored vehicles.
Zelenskiy told the group earlier that Ukraine urgently needs to build its air defense to save lives.
Zelenskiy said this year alone Russian jets have already used more than 9,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine, "and we need the ability to shoot down the air combat aircraft so that they do not approach our positions and borders."
At least seven Patriot systems are needed to protect Ukrainian cities, he added.
At a Pentagon press conference following the meeting, Austin said the United States was working with allies to locate additional Patriot systems but did not commit to sending more U.S. versions. He said he has been speaking one-on-one with a number of his European counterparts in recent days about this issue.
“It's not just Patriots that they need. They need other types of systems and interceptors as well,” Austin said. “I would caution us all in terms of making Patriot the silver bullet.”
The contact group meeting comes just days after U.S. President Joe Biden signed a long-delayed $61 billion military aid package for Ukraine. The United States has already announced that $1 billion in artillery, air defenses, and other hardware would soon be heading to the battlefield.
Austin said that since the Ukraine Defense Contact Group was founded two years ago members have provided Ukraine with more than 70 medium- and long-range air-defense systems and thousands of missiles.
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The group also sent more than 3,000 armored vehicles, including more than 800 main battle tanks, Austin said.
Despite all of the aid delivered, Zelenskiy said Russia "managed to seize the initiative on the battlefield" in the six months it took for Congress to pass the large U.S. aid package. But he said it is not too late to stabilize the front and "move toward achieving our Ukrainian goals in the war."
The flow of weaponry could improve Kyiv's chances of averting a major Russian breakthrough in the east, military analysts say. But it is unclear how much pressure Kyiv can apply after months of rationing artillery as its stocks ran low. Kyiv also faces a shortage of troops on the battlefield.