US to redirect Patriot air defense orders to Ukraine: FT
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According to two persons familiar with the decision, the US declaration on Thursday will codify Biden's pledge to Kiev and ensure that Ukraine receives the Patriot systems it needs to counter Russian attacks.
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky stands in front of a Patriot air defense missile system during a visit to a training area in Germany on June 11, 2024 (AP)
The US is halting the delivery of Patriot interceptor missiles to other countries to prioritize orders for Ukraine in the face of Russian attacks, according to the Financial Times.
Sources told FT the decision is expected to be announced on Thursday, following President Joe Biden's announcement last week in Italy that additional air defense systems, including Patriot missile batteries, would be delivered to Ukraine.
Biden stated that five nations have committed to deploy Patriot and other air defense systems to Ukraine and that other countries seeking US systems would have to wait since "everything we have is going to go to Ukraine until their needs are met".
Standing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the two signed a 10-year defense contract on the margins of the G7 conference in Puglia, Biden stated that Kiev will receive new systems "relatively quickly."
According to two persons familiar with the decision, the US declaration on Thursday will codify Biden's pledge to Kiev and ensure that Ukraine receives the Patriot systems it needs to counter Russian attacks.
Poland has stated that its Patriots are defending the infrastructure used to transport Western weapons across its border into Ukraine, and hence are already deployed. Italy stated this month it will give Kiev a second SAMP/T air defense system, a European-made alternative to the Patriot.
Zelensky described the Patriot systems, which include radars and mobile launchers capable of intercepting missiles," the most effective air defense system in the world today" and claimed they could take down all Russian missiles, including ballistic missiles. He stated then that "to protect Ukraine completely, in the future, Ukraine would need 25 Patriot systems with six to eight batteries each".
He and foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba have now informed NATO partners that Ukraine requires a minimum of seven Patriot systems to defend its skies successfully.
Ukraine now has at least four Patriot systems, which were given by the United States and Germany. Since Zelensky's request for extra supplies this spring, Germany has confirmed it will send one additional battery, and the Netherlands has proposed a plan to send another based on components donated by other nations. Biden then authorized the deployment of another Patriot air defense system to Ukraine last week.
Romania approves Patriot missile system deliveries to Ukraine
The Supreme Defense Council in Romania approved the transfer of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, the Romanian presidential administration revealed on Thursday.
This coincides with Germany's cessation of Patriot missile system deliveries to Ukraine due to its limited capacities, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced last week.
Speaking ahead of a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels, Pistorius underlined that his country has given Ukraine a quarter of its Patriot systems.
"Germany has so far delivered two Patriot units to Ukraine and is in the process of delivering a third unit," Pistorius said. "We already provided three systems, which means a quarter of our capacities. So, there is no space to provide even more than those three systems."
The Defense minister emphasized Germany's significant contributions, though he suggested that other countries could potentially step in to provide additional support. "We delivered a lot, but others maybe can do more," he added.
US will sacrifice Zelensky after exhausting his 'usefulness': SVR
The legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fully relies on Western support, but the West will sacrifice him once Russia consolidates its successes on the battlefield, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) pointed out on Thursday.
"Washington and its satellites are happy with the situation since May 20, 2024, as the legitimacy of [Ukrainian President] Vladimir Zelensky now fully relies on Western support," the SVR said in a statement.
It emphasized that Zelensky's "Western patrons will easily sacrifice him when Russia consolidates its successes on the battlefield, and depleted and demoralized Ukrainian forces find themselves against the ropes."
The SVR added that "having exhausted Zelensky’s ‘usefulness’ and realizing the futility of hoping for ‘Russia’s strategic defeat’, the White House will not pause to cast him off to the ash heap of history, replacing him with a Ukrainian politician who they believe can lead talks with Moscow on a peaceful settlement of the conflict."
