The United States will provide Ukraine with additional Patriot missiles for its air defense system as part of a large $6 billion additional aid package, the Secretary of Defense announced.
“This is the largest security aid package we have ever committed to,” Lloyd Austin said after a virtual meeting of dozens of international donors in Kiev concluded.
The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot systems. The package also includes more ammunition for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NAZAM) and additional equipment to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles and radars into Ukraine’s existing arsenal. Many still date back to Soviet times.
The aid package is the second this week and comes just days after U.S. President Joe Biden signed a long-delayed bill to provide new funding to Ukraine as it struggles to stop Russian expansion. This follows a $1 billion aid package.
But while the $1 billion aid package announced Wednesday included funding from U.S. stocks, the new aid will come from the defense industry and will take longer to reach the battlefield. It turns out.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed the needs of patriots early Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathered in a virtual meeting led by the Pentagon.
The meeting comes as the group has been working since April 2022 to procure millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armored vehicles and even jet aircraft to help Ukraine rebuff Russian aggression. The event was held on the second anniversary of the company’s founding, where Mr. Austin said, “We have moved the earth.”
Zelenskyy said at least seven Patriot systems are needed to protect Ukrainian cities. “We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them,” he said. “This is what can and should save lives right now.”
At a Pentagon news conference after the meeting, Austin said the U.S. is working with allies to procure additional Patriot systems, but has not committed to sending more U.S. versions. He said he had been speaking one-on-one with officials from a number of European countries in recent days to clarify this and other issues.
“It’s not just the Patriots that they need, they need other types of systems and interceptors as well,” Austin said. “I want to warn all of us in terms of making Patriot a silver bullet.”
Austin said he is asking allies to “accept a little more risk” when considering what weapons to send to Ukraine. Many countries have expressed some reluctance to send Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, the reason being that most countries do not have very many air defense systems and are necessary for their own defense. That’s because I think so.
U.S. officials said the aid package would be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which pays for long-term contracts with the defense industry and is not sure what to expect before the weapons arrive. This means it could take months or even years. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been made public.
The new funding (the largest amount of USAI aid ever sent) also includes the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himar), the Switchblade and Puma drones, anti-drone systems, and artillery.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group has been meeting almost every month for the past two years and has become the main forum for arms deliveries to Kiev for the war effort.
Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the $1 billion weapons package had important benefits.
“There will be a short-term impact,” said Brown, who was standing alongside Austin at a Pentagon briefing. “Now Ukrainians don’t necessarily have to ration what they have, because they know that things will come out of this package and there will be subsequent packages.”
The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
