After long hesitation, the United States is finally ready to respond favorably to an urgent request from kyiv and provide the Ukrainian army with a battery of Patriot missiles, American media reported on Tuesday citing unidentified officials.
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The final agreement could be announced as early as this week, CNN said, once US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin endorses it and forwards it to the White House for a final green light.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on Western capitals for modern air defense systems in recent weeks as his country is strained by intensified strikes from Moscow.
Russia has been increasing its bombardments on Ukrainian energy infrastructure since October. The Patriots, whose effectiveness has been widely demonstrated in recent years in Iraq and the Gulf, are armaments likely to play a useful role in countering these attacks.
However, many points remain unknown about the transfer to kyiv of these missiles which, given their sophistication, would mark an increased commitment by the Pentagon, while Washington precisely fears an escalation by getting involved in a more direct way against Russia.
In particular, it is unclear how many missiles would be supplied, where they would be deployed in Ukraine and where their Ukrainian users would be trained.
Other factors explaining Washington’s reluctance to equip Ukraine with these long-range batteries include their very high cost, their relative rarity in the Pentagon’s inventory and the long time needed to learn how to use them.
Loaded onto trucks, the Patriot is made up of a radar capable of automatically detecting and intercepting an aircraft, drone or missile within a radius of more than 100 km, a surveillance post manned by three soldiers and a battery of interceptor missiles.
Note that Patriot missiles are already a key element of NATO defenses on its eastern flank.