(Washington) The NATO summit opens Tuesday in Washington, a day after Russian missile salvos hit several Ukrainian cities. Strikes that only reinforce Volodymyr Zelensky’s plea to his Western allies for more air defense systems.
The Ukrainian president will attend the summit, which marks the 75the anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty and will bring together leaders of countries that supported Kyiv with tens of billions of dollars in military aid to counter the Russian invasion.
However, Ukraine is still not expected to receive the much-awaited invitation to join NATO and is therefore falling back on air defense systems as the most concrete aid it can receive at the summit.
Here are some facts about Ukraine’s air defense needs.
What does Ukraine ask for?
Volodymyr Zelensky has been repeating for months that his country does not have the necessary air defense systems and has requested at least seven additional Patriot systems (of American design), in addition to those already donated by the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Over the weekend, the Ukrainian president welcomed every donation for air defense, but said “more concrete decisions” were needed “to protect our cities and villages, and truly overcome Russian terror.”
At the NATO summit, “we will work with our partners towards such decisions. Preparations are already underway,” he said.
Why does Ukraine need it?
Russia has taken advantage of gaps in Ukraine’s air defenses by launching devastating strikes on civilians and the country’s infrastructure, while pounding Ukrainian troops on the front lines.
As an illustration of this threat, salvos of dozens of missiles struck Ukraine on Monday, killing at least 36 people across the country and devastating a pediatric hospital in Kyiv.
Russia has also claimed responsibility for several recent attacks on Ukrainian air bases, raising questions among Western allies about how Kyiv plans to protect its fleet of F-16 fighter jets, which are due to arrive later this year.
Kyiv has stressed that its lack of air power is a major factor in its army’s inability to advance on the front lines since its 2023 counteroffensive, which has had mixed results.
Ukraine’s international backers are seeking to assemble a patchwork of air defenses with low, medium, and high-altitude systems that are supposed to protect the country from various threats.
But this mix of different systems – new and old, Western and Soviet-era – has significant shortcomings.
What will Kyiv receive?
The United States is reportedly considering donating a new Patriot system to Ukraine. Kyiv considers them particularly valuable since these air defense systems are among the only ones capable of shooting down the most technologically advanced Russian missiles.
Without providing details, Joe Biden promised on Monday “new measures to strengthen Ukraine’s anti-aircraft defense” after the strikes which hit several cities in the country, an “atrocious reminder” according to the American president of the “brutality” demonstrated by Russia.
Washington is also in talks with Israel to transfer up to eight Patriot systems from its ally to Ukraine, according to multiple US media outlets.
The Netherlands is leading an operation to further build a Patriot system by assembling different components from the stocks of different countries.
Germany and Romania already responded to Volodymyr Zelensky’s request at the end of June by committing to each provide an additional Patriot system, while Italy promised to provide a SAMP/T anti-aircraft defense system, of Franco-Italian design.