Joe Biden promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday “to continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to defend itself, including advanced air defense systems,” according to a White House statement.
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During a telephone interview, the American president also expressed to his counterpart his “condolences” after massive Russian strikes on kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
The Ukrainian president spoke to him on Twitter of a “productive conversation”. “Air defense is currently the number one priority of our defense cooperation,” he said.
The rain of missiles which fell on Ukraine on Monday revived as expected the debate on a reinforcement of Western military aid in the field of anti-aircraft defense.
“Of the 84 Russian missiles fired against Ukraine, 43 were shot down. Of the 24 Russian drones, 13 were shot down,” the Ukrainian president said late Monday.
The United States has already pledged advanced surface-to-air missile batteries: two for delivery in the coming weeks or months, and another six as part of longer-term aid.
This NASAMS surface-to-air missile system is manufactured by the American Raytheon and the Norwegian group Kongsberg.
Germany, long criticized by Volodymyr Zelensky for the slowness of its commitment, has committed itself to delivering in the coming days an Iris-T defense system with a shield range of 20 kilometers in height and 40 kilometers of width.