American aid is entering a new phase. On Wednesday, April 19, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced that kyiv had received the first US Patriot air defense systems. They are supposed to help the Ukrainian army protect its skies against Russian missile salvoes.
“Today our beautiful Ukrainian skies become safer as Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian minister tweeted, thanking the United States, Germany and the Netherlands for “having kept his word”.
Washington had pledged in mid-December, during Volodymyr Zelensky’s historic visit to the United States, to provide its sophisticated Patriot air defense system, at a time when Russia was pounding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“Patriots” for patriots Do you know how to visualize a dream? We must tell about it to the world and give it life! This is exactly what happened with the Patriots, even before the large-scale war, even before my appointment to the most important position of my life at the most… pic.twitter.com/m6H63erV6Z
This system will “significantly” strengthen the Ukrainian defense against Russian attacks, the Ukrainian president rejoiced at the time, assuring that this equipment would only be used “defensively” and not to strike Russian territory. In the aftermath, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his army would find an “antidote” to circumvent this advanced system.
On January 20, the Netherlands announced that it would supply Ukraine with “two Patriot launchers” and their accompanying interceptor missiles as part of a “joint delivery” with the United States and Germany. . Berlin had committed to supplying one of these systems on January 5. The Ukrainian army also announced on Wednesday that it had deployed French AMX-10 light battle tanks, notably used for “reconnaissance missions”, without specifying the number.
The United States is leading an international campaign to help Ukraine, having quickly formed a coalition of dozens of countries to support Kiev since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. In addition to systems Patriot, the Westerners have planned to supply in particular tanks to Kiev to help it carry out a counter-offensive in the coming months with the aim of reconquering the occupied territories in the east and south of Ukraine. For its part, Moscow has repeatedly denounced Washington’s interventionism, believing that NATO, led by the American rival, was waging a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.
Consult our file: War in Ukraine
