Ukraine news – live: US to give Kyiv Patriot missile defence systems as Putin’s troops advance in east
Washington is expected to deliver its most advanced air defence system to help Ukraine protect its skies from Russian attacks, risking a response from Vladimir Putin who may view the move as an escalation.
Defence secretary Lloyd Austin could approve a directive to transfer at least one Patriot battery unit — seen as the US’s most modern missile defence system but also usually in short supply with allies racing to secure one for their nation — to Ukraine.
An announcement confirming the delivery of Patriot could be made as soon as tomorrow, according to US media reports. Alexander Vindman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and onetime leader of Ukraine policy at the White House, said it would be a “very, very significant” addition to Ukrainian defence capabilities.
Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly made impassioned pleas to Ukraine’s allies in the war, especially the US, to provide the most advanced weapons possible to protect his people from Russian missiles.
Meanwhile the war remains at its fiecest in Ukraine’s east, where Russian and Ukrainian troops rained mortar, artillery and missiles around the small city of Bakhmut yesterday.
