US poised to send Patriot missiles in boost for Ukraine
The US is set to send advanced Patriot missiles to Ukraine, months after Kyiv asked for the defence system to combat long-range ballistic and cruise missiles fired by Russian forces.
A formal announcement is expected in the coming days, possibly as early as tomorrow, but the plan is still awaiting final approval from Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, and President Biden.
The Patriot system will be the most advanced weaponry handed to the Ukrainians since the start of the war in February. Once an agreement has been signed, the defence system is expected to be shipped to Germany where Ukrainian forces will be trained how to use it. Biden and President Zelensky of Ukraine discussed the Patriots in a call on Sunday. The deployment of the missiles has become a matter of urgency since Moscow began launching longer range missiles at Kyiv and other cities weeks ago. Along with drone attacks, the Russian missiles have damaged Ukraine’s infrastructure.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, told CNN last month that the US was considering providing air defence systems to Ukraine. “We’re now very focused on air defence systems and not just us, many other countries,” he said. “And we’re working to make sure that the Ukrainians get those systems as quickly as possible but also as effectively as possible, making sure that they are trained on them, making sure they have the ability to maintain them and all of that has to come together and it is.”
The Patriot missiles will be separate from a $275 million package of US military assistance for Ukraine, which was announced on Friday.
Zelensky thanked Biden during their call on Sunday for Washington’s “unprecedented” support for the war against Russia, which is now in its tenth month. Officials said the US planned to send one Patriot battery, which would include up to eight launchers, each of which can hold four missiles. A battery is equipped with a radar that detects and tracks targets, computers, power generating equipment and an engagement control station. Patriots need large crews to operate them and training can take months.
Kyiv’s forces will hope that once in place, the Patriots will limit the Kremlin’s ability to hit targets with ordnance fired from Russia, and from Russian- controlled territory in Ukraine. Because of their long-range and high-altitude capability, Patriot missiles can shoot down missiles and aircraft a long distance from their intended targets in Ukraine.
“It’s very, very significant,” said Alexander Vindman, a retired US army lieutenant colonel who led Ukraine policy at the White House during the Trump administration.
“These are going to be quite capable of dealing with a lot of different challenges the Ukrainians have, especially if the Russians bring in short-range ballistic missiles” from Iran.
The US will also hope that the delivery of the missile system will serve as a warning against any Russian ambitions west of Ukraine.
Reports had surfaced of tensions between Biden and Zelensky, as Ukraine demanded more advanced weaponry. The disagreements appear to have been ironed out, however.
Biden “reaffirmed the US commitment to continue providing Ukraine with security, economic, and humanitarian assistance, holding Russia accountable for its war crimes and atrocities, and imposing costs on Russia for its aggression,” the White House said after Sunday’s call.
Zelensky said the “unprecedented defence and financial assistance” from the US helped “not only to succeed on the battlefield”, but also to “maintain the stability of our nation’s economy”, according to a Ukrainian statement.
Washington is concerned that a harsh winter in Europe, with rising energy and fuel prices, will soften support for Ukraine among some allies.
The US is pressing ahead with continued support for Kyiv despite opposition from some Republicans in Congress. In January, Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives and some officials have questioned whether the US should continue to write what they describe as “blank cheques” to Kyiv.
A recent poll indicated that the backing for the American support for Ukraine was declining. The survey for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs this month showed that 48 per cent said the US should support Ukraine “for as long as it takes, even if American households have to pay higher gas and food prices as a consequence”.
Patriot missiles arriving in Ukraine would be the most significant development in the psychological battle between Washington and Moscow since the war began on February 24 (Michael Evans writes).
The Patriot system, which can shoot down ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, advanced fighter aircraft and drones, are combat-proven and accurate enough to defend against the Russian bombardment of Ukraine’s infrastructure.
A decision by President Biden to deploy them in Ukraine would send the most potent signal to President Putin that the US and its Nato allies were no longer prepared to allow the Kremlin to continue its attacks.
The US has already sent huge supplies of air-defence weapons, including man-portable Stinger systems. But Patriot missiles would be in a different league.
Patriots were used extensively during the 1991 Gulf War and the missile has since gone through three improvement programmes.
Concerned that Russian missiles might be aimed at Nato’s eastern flank, the US has deployed Patriots to Poland since the war began. Sending them into Ukraine would tell Putin that Biden and Lloyd Austin, his defence secretary, believe that the time is right to provide an extra layer of protection to confront Russia. But there is a drawback. These are serious weapons that cannot be deployed and launched in anger in days or even weeks. Dozens of Ukrainian missile operators will have to be trained, probably at a US base in Germany. It could take months and meanwhile the Russian attacks would continue.
However, if Biden approves Patriot for the Kyiv government, the next step could be longer-range rockets to hit targets in Russia, and fighter jets, although a US defence source said the latter was probably a long way down the road.
