WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected to announce that the US will grant Ukraine a additional Patriot missile system to bolster its air defenses against a deadly onslaught of Russian airstrikes, including one this week that Children’s Hospital in Kiev.
Two U.S. officials said the battery, part of a $225 million aid package expected to be announced during Biden’s meeting Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, would be the second Patriot air defense system the U.S. has delivered to Ukraine. AP reported in June that the U.S. would send another Patriot.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details about the aid before the public announcement.
The additional system is being paid for through presidential withdrawal authority, which allows the military to immediately remove the system from inventory and quickly deliver it to Ukraine.
Late last month, Zelenskyy advocated for additional U.S.-made Patriot systems, arguing that they would help his forces counter the nearly 3,000 bombs he says Russia fires at the country each month.
The system is one of many Biden announced this week at the NATO summit is being held in Washington as part of a series of pledges to send weapons to Ukraine to help the country fend off Russian attacks.
On Tuesday, the US, Germany and Romania said in a joint statement that they would supply Ukraine with weapons. Patriot batterieswhile the Netherlands and other countries supply Patriot components for another battery and Italy supplies a SAMP-T air defense system.
Other allies, including Canada, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom, will provide a number of other systems that will help Ukraine expand its coverage. Those systems include NASAMS, HAWKs, IRIS T-SLM, IRIS T-SLS and Gepards. And other countries have agreed to provide munitions for those systems.
In addition, the U.S. last week pledged another $150 million in weapons to be drawn directly from stockpiles, including air defense interceptors, artillery and other weapons, and anti-tank weapons. It also pledged $2.2 billion in funds from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, a mechanism used to order longer-term weapons systems, including Patriot missiles and NASAM air defense systems.