US and allies announce additional air defense support for Ukraine

The United States and its allies will deliver to Ukraine five additional air defense systems, including Patriot missile batteries and Patriot components, the leaders of those countries said in a joint statement during the NATO summit.

They added that in the coming months, they intend to provide Ukraine with dozens of tactical air defense systems.

Washington, Ukraine's biggest supporter, has provided more than $50 billion in military aid since 2022. 

But US military aid was delayed in Congress for months over the winter, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a shortage of weapons was giving Russia the upper hand.

After battle lines remained largely frozen since early in the conflict, Moscow made some advances in eastern Ukraine in recent months. Zelenskyy has urged Western governments to increase and speed up military aid to Kyiv's forces.

US legislation was approved in April that provided $61 billion in funding to Ukraine. Zelenskyy said last week he wanted to double Ukraine's air defense capacity over the summer.

President Joe Biden made the announcement in remarks at the NATO summit. A joint statement was later issued by the leaders of the US, the Netherlands, Romania, Italy, Germany, and Ukraine.

"We are providing Ukraine with additional strategic air defense systems, including additional Patriot batteries donated by the United States, Germany, and Romania; Patriot components donated by the Netherlands and other partners to enable the operation of an additional Patriot battery; and an additional SAMP-T system donated by Italy," the joint statement said.

Reuters