Joe Biden promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday to “continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to defend itself, including advanced” air defense systems, according to a White House statement.
During a telephone interview, the US president also expressed his “condolences” to his counterpart for the massive Russian attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
A “productive conversation”
The Ukrainian president spoke to him on Twitter about a “productive conversation”. “Air defense is currently the number one priority of our defense cooperation,” he said.
The rain of missiles that fell on Ukraine on Monday unsurprisingly revived the debate on a reinforcement of Western military aid in the field of anti-aircraft defense.
“Of the 84 Russian missiles fired at Ukraine, 43 were shot down. Of the 24 Russian drones, 13 were shot down,” the Ukrainian president said on Monday night.
German deliveries?
The United States has already promised advanced surface-to-air missile batteries: two for delivery in the coming weeks or months, and six more as part of longer-term aid.
This NASAMS surface-to-air missile system is manufactured by the American Raytheon and the Norwegian Kongsberg group.
Germany, long criticized by Volodymyr Zelensky for being slow in its commitment, has promised to deliver an Iris-T defense system with a shield range 20 kilometers high and 40 kilometers wide in the coming days.
Source: BFM TV
