The US is sending air defense missiles to Ukraine that were contracted for purchase by other countries, the White House announced this Thursday.
The decision comes as Ukraine has called on its supporters to send at least seven Patriot missile systems to defend itself against Russian attacks that are targeting the country and targeting energy infrastructure.
“The United States has made the difficult decision to reprioritize planned near-term deliveries of foreign military sales to other countries, especially Patriot and NASAMS missiles, to go to Ukraine,” said John Kirby, national security communications advisor. of the White House.
“The United States has a robust foreign military sales program, where our defense industrial base produces and then exports materials to other countries, including air defense missiles. We will reprioritize deliveries of these exports so that the missiles coming off the production line are supplied to Ukraine.”
Kirby said air defense munitions for Taiwan and Israel in particular would not be affected. He said the U.S. had communicated pending foreign military sales to affected countries, but could not detail how long the delays would be and did not name specific countries.
“We will do the best we can to minimize the delay,” he said.
Kirby said the scope of deliveries to Ukraine “will provide them with sufficient capabilities” over the next 16 months.
The US move comes at a time when Ukraine also welcomed Romania’s decision on Thursday to send a battery of Patriot missiles, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling it a “crucial contribution”.
“By putting an end to Russian terror now, Ukraine prevents potential aggression against Moldova, Romania, the Baltic States and all of our neighbors. It is critical that Ukraine has the tools it needs to defeat Russian terror now so that no one else has to face Russia’s larger-scale aggressive actions in the future,” Zelensky said in a statement. declaration.
During a press conference between Zelensky and President Biden on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy last week, Biden he said the US was working to supply at least five Patriot systems to Ukraine.
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