The Biden administration is working on sending an additional Patriot air defense missile system to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
Funds for the single battery and accompanying radars would most likely come out of the $61 billion assistance package recently pushed through Congress. European patrons of the Kiev regime are also working on resourcing additional Patriot systems from their own stocks, the sources added.
The report falls in sync with the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Kiev. The surprise arrival, in turn, comes as the Russian Armed Forces have made significant advances in the Kharkov region, forcing Ukrainian troops to retreat.
It’s no surprise, therefore, that that during his meeting with Blinken, Zelensky yet again angled for additional air defense support. Kiev wants two Patriots for the Kharkov region alone. Germany committed to send another Patriot system to Ukraine back in April, but other European allies have been reluctant to dip into their already depleted stocks.
Blinken said that the US was “working relentlessly with allies” to procure more air defense systems for Kiev.
However, despite the US aid package, Ukraine's Armed Forces are grappling with severe manpower shortages, plummeting morale, and continuous retreats. The latter is particularly evident in Kharkov region, where Russia has made significant gains.
"It's clear that the Patriot missile system cannot defend against Iskander-M ballistic missiles and it cannot defend against Zircon hypersonic missiles, which the Russians have now demonstrated in battle, and it's probably vulnerable to other Russian missiles like the Kinzhal as well," he said.
Moscow has repeatedly noted that Patriot systems would be a legitimate target like all other NATO weaponry fueling the proxy conflict. Earlier in March, then-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that five Patriot systems had already been obliterated in Russia’s special op zone in Ukraine.
After Joe Biden unveiled a package of assistance for Ukraine in late 2022 that for the first time included a Patriot system, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin dismissed the complex as “quite old.”
“In regards to Patriots, this is quite an old system and it doesn’t work as well as our S-300 [missile system]... Those who oppose us think this is a defensive weapon, that’s what they say. But that’s in their own mind and we’ll always find the antidote," Putin said. He added that "those doing it are just wasting their time, it’s just delaying the conflict.”