US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said NATO has “a very positive response” to Ukraine’s appeal for more air defenses, a decision expected to be announced in the 3-day NATO summit slated to start Tuesday, July 9.
“There will be fresh news on air defense. The Ukrainians asked NATO for seven Patriot systems in April. And we have a very positive response on that, which will come in the next few days,” Smith said on Monday, July 8, during a Foreign Policy online discussion, as reported by Voice of America.
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Smith’s comments came on the same day as Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Ukraine and struck a children’s hospital, which led to dozens of casualties, including children and medical staff.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden promised Monday “new measures” to boost Ukraine’s air defenses after the barrage of missiles against Kyiv and other cities killed at least 36 people.
Biden said in a statement the US and its allies would announce this new assistance at a NATO summit this week in Washington, and called the missile strikes “a horrific reminder of Russia's brutality” in the war that began in February 2022.
At Monday’s online discussion, Smith also hinted at other “specific announcements that will come for Ukraine, for NATO allies, news about defense production, about sustainability, about cyber security” at the NATO summit in Washington.
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“We will have a financial commitment, according to which both Ukraine and Moscow will understand very clearly that we, the transatlantic partners, will not back down.
“As you know, Putin predicted that we would all turn away. We are not distracted. We are focused on the issue of Ukraine and are going to stick to the chosen course, so keep an eye out for announcements of financial commitments,” she said.
For months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been calling for more military aid to fend off Russian attacks, the shortage of which was exacerbated by the US Congress’ delay in passing the bill, leading to incremental gains for Moscow.
After the aid was approved, Zelensky said in a recent Bloomberg interview, deliveries were still too slow to make a difference.
The lack of air defense has also led to a renewed wave of Russian strikes on Ukrainian power infrastructure, which severely damaged the latter’s power generation capacity and led to nationwide rolling blackouts, a consequence that could be felt far behind the front in Ukraine.
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