Blinken announces news on air defense for Ukraine before NATO summit
Photo: Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
In the near future, there may be news of additional air defense systems for Ukraine. They are expected before the NATO summit on July 9-11, according to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
According to Blinken, success for Ukraine is the ability to "stand on its own" in military, economic, and democratic areas. In the short term, a strong air defense system is one of the components of Ukraine's success.
The Secretary of State noted that Ukraine's economy has tremendous potential, given the investments. To unlock this potential, it is necessary to ensure air defense which will protect the areas where investments have been made.
"We’re driving that. I think you’ll see more news on that in the coming weeks as we get to the NATO summit actually next week." the Secretary of State said.
He also added that a democratically, economically, and militarily independent Ukraine would be "the strongest possible rebuke" to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Air defense for Ukraine
Recently, Ukrainian officials have been calling on Western allies to provide additional air defense systems that can shoot down ballistic missiles, particularly, Patriot and SAMP/T.
Recently, a source in the Israeli Defense Ministry told RBC-Ukraine that his country may soon decide to transfer Patriot systems to Ukraine through the United States.
According to Western media, Israel may provide eight Patriot batteries that will strengthen Ukraine's air defense.
Read more about this in the material by RBC-Ukraine.
