Ukraine will receive two of these crucial American systems in the coming months to defend its civil infrastructure.
After weeks of tensions, do the United States and Ukraine go towards a softening of their relationship? Five days after the long -awaited signature of the mineral agreement between the two countries, kyiv will receive a new American anti -aircraft defense system Patriot, announces the New York Timeswhich quotes four current and former American officials. A second could also follow. The arrival of these weapons, which Ukraine has demanded in greater numbers since the start of the war, is however not correlated with the current diplomatic period. She was decided by Joe Biden last September, and under Donald Trump, the Defense Department had chosen not to return to the sealed weapon delivery agreements during the previous mandate.
The first system will be transferred from Israel, after being refurbished. He will arrive in Ukraine by this summer. Germany or Greece could provide the second. Under the US regulation on arms exports, the United States must give their approval to any transfer of this type of armament, even if it passes through other countries. These sophisticated anti -aircraft defense systems are a major asset to combat Russian bombing. Ukraine has eight, of which only six are operational, most of them positioned around the capital, kyiv. The other two are being renovated.
About 186 Patriot systems in the world
In mid-April, during a call with Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to acquire others, and no longer to expect in the form of help. Each system costs a little more than a billion dollars and it takes $ 4 million per missile, according to the Fort Strategic and International Studies Center (CSIS). The signing of the mineral agreement could accelerate these transactions, said Zelensky on Saturday, quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The text mentions the possibility that the United States sends more military aid to kyiv if no peace agreement is concluded. Currently, the weapons still received by Ukraine stem from agreements signed with Joe Biden.
But the Patriot system has shown its limits since the start of the conflict. The recent Russian attacks on civil infrastructure prove that a salvo of drones sent almost simultaneously missiles is enough to saturate the field of action of the patriot. To defend itself more effectively, Ukraine must therefore increase its capacities. In total, around 186 Patriot systems are in service around the world, indicates the New York Timesa third of which belongs to the United States. The European Allies of kyiv have around forty, including the eight currently in Ukraine.
