Plans by the U.S. to send the Patriot Missile Defense System to Ukraine are in the final stages and could be announced as early as this week, CNN reported.
The news network attributed its information to two U.S. officials and a senior administration official.
However, before the plans can be executed, they need Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s approval and President Joe Biden’s signature, CNN said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had told CNN in November that the U.S. is “very focused” on sending air defense systems to Ukraine.
“We’re now very focused on air defense systems and not just us, many other countries,” he said.
“And we’re working to make sure that the Ukrainians get those systems as quickly as possible but also as effectively as possible, making sure that they are trained on them, making sure they have the ability to maintain them, and all of that has to come together and it is.
“We have a very deliberate process established by the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Ramstein, Germany, that meets regularly to make sure that the Ukrainians are getting what they need, when they need it.”
Ukraine has been requesting the system for months, CNN reported.
And the U.S. had been considering sending the system to Ukraine to bolster air defenses against ongoing Russian missile strikes, a senior U.S. defense official said.
“Patriot is one of the air defense capabilities that is being considered along with all others,” he said.
The Patriot missile defense system, made by Raytheon, is the most sophisticated surface-to-air missile defense system NATO has at its disposal. They are designed to track and take on inbound ballistic and cruise missiles and aircraft.
