US, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Romania to Provide 5 Patriot and SAMP-T Systems and Dozens of tactical Air Defence Systems to Ukraine
On the first day of the NATO summit in Washington, the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Romania announced that they will be transferring five Patriot and SAMP-T strategic air defence systems, as well as dozens of tactical air defence systems to Ukraine. This is stated in a joint statement by the countries on the White House website.
"Today, we are announcing that we are jointly transferring additional strategic air defence systems to Ukraine, including additional Patriot batteries from the United States, Germany, and Romania, Patriot components provided by the Netherlands and other partners to support another Patriot battery, and an additional SAMP-T system donated by Italy," the statement said.
All five new strategic air defence systems will help protect Ukrainian cities, civilians and military personnel.
"We are working closely with the Ukrainian government to ensure that these systems can be deployed quickly," the document says.
The five leaders also said that they are working to provide Ukraine with dozens of other tactical air defence systems this year, such as NASAMS, HAWK, IRIS T-SLM, IRIS T-SLS and Gepard.
Several NATO Allies, including Canada, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom, will continue to play an important role in providing these systems to Ukraine, while other partners will help provide interceptor missiles.
In addition, the US will redistribute missile transfers for air defence systems to other countries in favour of Ukraine. This will allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to receive hundreds of missiles over the next year.
"We are committed to providing Ukraine with additional air defence capabilities as it defends itself against Russian aggression, including Russia's deliberate attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian and critical infrastructure," the statement said.
As a reminder, the 75th anniversary NATO Summit at the level of heads of state is taking place in Washington. The Ukrainian delegation is headed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.