AP: US to give Ukraine Patriot air defense system as part of new $1.8 billion military aid package

The United States will provide Ukraine with a new $1.8 billion military aid package, which for the first time will include the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) and high-precision guided missiles for JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) fighter jets. About it writes Associated Press, citing US officials.

The new military aid package aims to expand the types of modern weapons being sent to Ukraine, the sources said. He should strengthen the air defense of Ukraine.

Support is expected to be announced on Wednesday. By data CNN, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet with US President Joe Biden on December 21 to discuss a new military aid package.

At the same time, the timing of the delivery of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine is still unclear, since the US military must first train Ukrainian troops how to use these weapons. Training may take several weeks, writes AP. The events will be held at the Grafenwöhr training ground in Germany.

On December 13, CNN reported that the US presidential administration had completed preparations for sending Patriot systems to Ukraine. According to the publication, this should have been announced last week.

In the Kremlin considered Patriot complexes as legitimate military targets of the Russian Armed Forces (AF) if they are delivered to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov stressed that he was not yet ready to comment on this information in detail, since today “media reports are an unreliable thing.” He urged to wait for official information.

At the Russian embassy in the USA called the possible dispatch of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine as a “provocative step” and predicted “unpredictable consequences.”

The White House has not officially confirmed the information about the deliveries. At the same time, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Washington would continue to supply weapons to Kyiv.