Ukraine will receive the Patriot air defence system, which is currently in Israel, four current and former US officials told The New York Times on condition of anonymity.
The US officials said that the Israeli Patriot is currently undergoing an overhaul and is an older model – the air defence system is to be delivered to Ukraine this summer. Also, according to media sources, the issue of transferring another air defence system from Germany or Greece to Ukraine is now being discussed.
The US Department of Defence said that it “continues to provide Ukraine with equipment from the previously authorised” packages, referring to the weapons that were promised to be provided under the presidency of Joe Biden. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine needs at least 10 Patriot systems to counter Russian ballistic missiles.
Kiev has been constantly urging its Western allies to supply more advanced weapons and air defence systems that would help it, on the one hand, protect the skies and, on the other hand, allow it to strike military targets deeper into Russia