The United States plans to suspend all open orders for Patriot air defense systems and interceptor missiles until Ukraine has sufficient protection from Russian air attacks.
This is reported by the Financial Times, citing sources who are familiar with this decision.
As FT sources note, this will be announced on June 20, following US President Joe Biden's announcement regarding commitments to supply additional air defense systems to Ukraine, which he announced last week in Italy.
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Patriot for Ukraine
Then Biden stated that five countries agreed to send Patriot and other air defense systems to Ukraine, so other countries awaiting delivery of American systems will have to wait, because everything we have will go to Ukraine until their needs are met will be satisfied”.
— Thursday's US announcement will cement Biden's commitment to Kiev and ensure Ukraine receives the Patriot systems it needs to protect its cities and critical infrastructure, — journalists write.
The material also notes that Poland, Romania, Germany and Spain currently have open orders for Patriot systems, and a coalition of NATO countries ordered 1,000 Patriot missiles in January.
The FT added that Spain, Greece and Romania have Patriot in their arsenal, but do not yet allow launchers to be transferred to Ukraine. Poland said its Patriots protect the infrastructure used to ship Western weapons across its border into Ukraine, so they are already deployed to defend the war-torn country.
Journalists of the publication emphasized that Ukraine is now armed with at least four Patriot complexes, which were provided by the United States and Germany.
— Addressing ammunition shortages and gaps in Ukraine's air defense system is essential to protecting critical infrastructure and is as important as stabilizing the front line.
Russian strikes have caused significant damage to Ukraine's non-nuclear power industry, and Russian drones are increasingly able to attack Ukrainian positions behind the front line due to the lack of air defense cover, — emphasized Michael Kofman, senior fellow at the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Recall that in early June, Germany said it was considering sending a fourth Patriot anti-aircraft missile battery to Ukraine as the allies try to deliver equipment that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urgently requested to defend against new Russian attacks.
According to Bloomberg sources, the Patriot battery will be one of three that the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has already promised to provide to Ukraine, including recently in April. According to them, Germany has not yet made a final decision.
