According to two US officials on Tuesday, the US is prepared to approve delivering its most sophisticated ground-based air defense system to Ukraine in response to that nation's urgent request for assistance in fending off a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks.
The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal discussions, said Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III may authorize a directive as soon as this week to relocate one Patriot battery currently deployed overseas to Ukraine. President Biden would then have the final say.
US Patriot Missile Battery
Officials from the Pentagon, White House, and State Department declined to comment on the specifics of the delivery of a Patriot battery, which, if approved, would be one of the most advanced weapons the United States has given Ukraine.
Unlike other systems the West has delivered, the Patriot system is able to hit targets far farther away and can shoot down Russian ballistic missiles.
Ned Price, a spokesperson for the State Department, told reporters on Tuesday, "We have been very clear that the United States will continue to prioritize sending air defense systems to Ukraine to help our Ukrainian partners defend themselves from the brutal Russian aggression that we've seen for the better part of a year now."
There are still many unanswered concerns about the rumored transfer, which CNN broke previously, including how long it would take to train Ukrainian soldiers on the system, most likely in Germany, and where the Patriots would be stationed inside Ukraine.
The United States had previously opposed giving the Ukrainians Patriot batteries because it only possesses a small number of them and they need advanced training.
However, as a result of Russia's persistent strikes on power plants, heating systems, and other energy infrastructure, Ukrainian leaders have stepped up their requests for air defenses from the United States and other Western partners.
Per NY Times, the strikes, which employed drones and missiles built in Iran, have left Ukrainians defenseless and in the dark, as the winter season is only getting started. Over 1.5 million people in the area were left in the dark over the weekend as a result of Russian drone attacks on the port city of Odesa in southern Ukraine.
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that the region had been placed in an "extremely tough" condition as a result of the strikes by Russia, which were a part of a national assault on Ukraine's electrical grid. He also warned that it would take days, not hours, to restore electricity to citizens.
Zelensky praised the nations for their ongoing assistance in an address to the Group of 7 nations on Monday, but he also made a list of requests, with funding for weaponry coming in first. Sending the Patriot system would be a potent indication of the US' growing military commitment to Ukraine.
Because it would be viewed as an escalation that would prompt a response from Moscow, US officials have expressed hesitation about giving the weaponry to Ukraine.
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Biden Opposes Sending Troops to Ukraine
There were worries that US personnel would have been required to operate the Patriot, which also requires extensive training. In Ukraine, Biden has vehemently opposed sending any combat troops from the US.
When asked about training, Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the press secretary for the Pentagon, said that generally speaking, the US considers those demands when providing Ukraine with complex combat systems like the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.
In other European nations like Germany, US forces are already instructing Ukrainian troops on a variety of systems, including the HIMARS. Officials have stated that the United States would deliver one Patriot battery. A Patriot battery mounted on a truck can have up to eight launchers, each of which can accommodate four missiles.
The Army claims that only three soldiers are needed to actually fire the system, which consists of a phased array radar, a control station, computers, and generators. The Army estimates that about 90 personnel are normally needed to run and maintain the system, AP News reported.
Many of the United States' allies, notably those in eastern Europe who fear becoming the next targets of Russia, are in desperate need of Patriot missile systems and other high-tech surface-to-air weapons.
Due to the threat posed by incoming ballistic missiles from nations like Iran, the US has recently deployed a small number of these systems around the Middle East and Europe.
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