US President Joe Biden announced a major package of air defences for Ukraine as doubts over his political survival clouded the start of a NATO summit in Washington.
Leaders from the 32-nation military alliance were looking to put on a show of resolve against Russia during three days of ceremony in the US capital marking NATO's 75th anniversary.
However, questions over Mr Biden's fitness to govern threatened to dominate the gathering as the 81-year-old faces calls to quit the race for a second term after a disastrous debate performance against challenger Donald Trump.
US President Joe Biden said NATO allies will send dozens of air defence systems, including at least four Patriot systmes, in the coming months. On Tuesday Ukrainian President Volodymry Zelsenky said air defence systems were still his country's number one request.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the statement, the U.S., Germany and Romania will send Ukraine additional Patriot batteries, while the Netherlands and others will provide Patriot components to make up one more battery. Italy will provide a SAMP-T air defense system.
ReplyDeleteOther allies, including Canada, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom, will provide a number of other systems that will help Ukraine expand its coverage. Those systems include NASAMS, HAWKs, IRIS T-SLM, IRIS T-SLS and Gepards. And other nations have agreed to provide munitions for those systems.
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