The Pentagon is finalizing plans to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine, according to a U.S. official, who stressed that shipment has yet to be approved.
It was not immediately clear whether the United States would move Patriot systems that are already deployed in Europe or the Middle East to Ukraine, or contract with manufacturer Raytheon Technologies to build new systems. If the latter, the systems could take years to arrive on the battlefield.
The U.S. Army sent two Patriot batteries to Poland in March, and another to Slovakia in July from it’s pre-positioned equipment already on the continent. The addition of the Patriot system would be a significant boost to Ukraine’s air defense capabilities. It’s a defensive weapon that would cause Russian pilots to “think twice” before attacking Ukrainian forces, Tom Karako, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, previously told POLITICO.
As a defensive system, the Patriot is seen as less escalatory than long-range rockets, such as the Army Tactical Missile System, an offensive weapon that can fly up to 190 miles. Kyiv has also been clamoring for longer-range rockets such as ATACMS that can reach inside Russia, but the White House has said that is not being considered.
In addition to the United States, 17 countries operate Patriots or have them on order, including Romania and Poland. The Polish government this week accepted Germany’s offer to send one of their Patriot systems to eastern Poland after an errant Ukrainian missile targeting incoming Russian fire accidentally fell inside Poland, killing two civilians.
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