The USA may announce the transfer of Patriot and high-precision bombs to Ukraine — tsn.ua
During the possible visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the USA may make a historic decision to refuse significant military aid to Ukraine.
The United States will send Ukraine $1.8 billion in military aid in a large-scale package that incorporating the Patriot missile battery and precision guided bombs for its fighters for the first timeUS officials said Tuesday, as the Biden administration prepares to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to Washington.
About this writes Associated Press.
US officials described the details of the aid on condition of anonymity, after which it has not yet been reported. The aid is a signal that the United States is expanding the range of modern weapons it will send to Ukraine to bolster the country’s air defenses as Ukraine comes under an increasing barrage of Russian missile strikes.
The package, expected to be announced Wednesday, includes about $1 billion in weapons from the Pentagon’s stockpile and another $800 through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds weapons, ammunition, training and other aid, officials said.
“Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials pressured Western leaders to provide more advanced weapons, including the Patriot, to help their country in its war with Russia,” the media reported.
The Patriot will be the most advanced anti-aircraft missile system the West has provided to Ukraine to repel Russian air attacks. The timing of the military aid announcement — as Zelenskyi left Ukraine on his first trip since the war began — sends a strong signal that the U.S. continues to support Ukraine as the war drags on.
The package will also include a number of Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAM, kits, officials said. Their number is not disclosed.
The kits will be used to modify the massive bombs by adding tail controls and precision navigation systems so that instead of simply being dropped from a fighter jet, they can be released and guided to the target.
US fighters and bombers are taking JDAMs, and the Pentagon is working to modify them for use by Ukraine.
The USA has not yet given Ukraine American fighter jets. Russia said the modern jets would be seen as a provocation, while the US said today that other weapons would be better, citing significant maintenance and training requirements for the pilots of these warplanes.
In addition to providing Ukraine with these American planes, the Pentagon is helping Kyiv find innovative ways to modernize its military.
The aid package also includes an undisclosed number of missiles for the High Mobility Artillery Missile System, thousands of artillery and mortar shells, trucks and HARM air-to-surface anti-radiation missiles.
Persistent pleas from Ukrainian leaders and the devastating destruction of the country’s civilian infrastructure, including domestic electricity and heat in winter, eventually overcame reservations about supplying the U.S. Patriot, officials said.
“The heads of the White House and the Pentagon have constantly stated that providing Ukraine with additional air defense is a priority. Officials said that with the approach of winter and the intensification of Russian bombing of civilian infrastructure, this issue has become more important,” the reports read.
Previously, US officials refused to provide Patriot Ukraine, then this could be considered an escalation that provoked a response from Moscow. A single Patriot battery also includes up to eight launchers, each capable of fueling four missiles. In addition, concerns were raised about the significant training required and questions about what it would take for the US military to operate them. All that President Joe Biden categorically refused to send any US military units to Ukraine.
Why the West is considering giving the Patriots
Military expert Vladyslav Seleznyov previously reported that the supply of modern high-tech weapons by countries that are not part of the North Atlantic Alliance leads to an escalation of the conflict.. But at the same time, it is irrational and illogical to talk about the escalation of the conflict now, because Russia is already constantly using many types of weapons to launch strikes against Ukraine.
Besides the State Department commented on Russia’s threats due to the possible provision of the Patriot system to Ukraine by the USA. The US State Department is convinced that the provocateur is Russia itself.
AND US plans to send Patriot to Ukraine indicate that the US does not want to wait too long for Russia to surrender. Publicist and sociologist Andrii Piontkovskyi is convinced of this.
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