A navy car drives by Patriot air protection methods put in on the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport, a logistics hub for U.S. and European navy assist to Ukraine, in southeastern Poland on March 6.
Sergei Gapon/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
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Sergei Gapon/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
The Pentagon and U.S. navy officers in Europe are working with NATO members to ship extra Patriot missile methods to Ukraine, and launch extra munitions that have been briefly halted.
On Monday, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth met along with his German counterpart, Federal Minister of Protection Boris Pistorius, and “discussed how to help set conditions for an end to the war in Ukraine and on terms that support an enduring peace,” mentioned Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell in a press release launched at the moment.
NATO mentioned in a launch it’s now engaged on what it referred to as “substantial military equipment packages,” together with air protection methods, missiles and ammunition. “This is Europe stepping up,” mentioned NATO Secretary Normal Mark Rutte, noting commitments from Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the UK, the Netherlands, and Canada, with extra anticipated to comply with.
Whereas there have been no particulars on what might be within the navy tools packages, two sources inform NPR – a Pentagon official and a navy officer from a NATO nation, each not licensed to talk publicly — that NATO will cobble collectively 17 Patriot missile methods to additional assist shield Ukraine from Russian drone and missile assaults. Ukraine at present has half a dozen Patriot methods, principally getting used to guard the capital Kyiv. There was no sense on when the extra methods would arrive.
President Trump mentioned in a gathering with Rutte that NATO would offer its personal Patriot methods after which purchase further ones from the U.S.
“You have very wealthy countries buying the best equipment in the world, and we have the best equipment in the world,” Trump mentioned on Monday. “We make equipment like no other.”
In the meantime, a separate NATO official not licensed to talk publicly on the state of navy assist mentioned shipments of U.S. armaments paused by the Pentagon are actually flowing into Ukraine from Poland.
In response to a U.S. official who requested anonymity to debate specifics on the safety help, the shipments embody 30 Patriot missiles, 92 AIM missiles and 142 Hellfire missiles that can be utilized by F-16 warplanes already supplied to Ukraine. Additionally included: almost 9,000 Howitzer artillery rounds, in addition to greater than 250 GMLRS, a precision-guided rocket, which means it has a excessive diploma of accuracy. The weapons now transferring in from Poland additionally embody some 125 AT-4 grenade launchers and 25 Stinger missiles. Stinger missiles are shoulder-fired methods that function as an infrared homing floor to air missile, key to putting Russian helicopters and drones.
Russia in the meantime continued to pummel Ukrainian cities in a single day with some 267 drones and Ukraine’s air drive mentioned it shot down 244 of them, in response to Ukrainian navy officers. Russia continued its nightly bombardment shortly after Trump introduced his resolution to provide Ukraine with new navy tools and threatened additional financial measures in opposition to Moscow.
Russia’s Protection Ministry, in the meantime, mentioned its forces downed no less than 70 Ukrainian drones in a single day into Tuesday morning. Among the many areas focused have been the southwestern Voronezh area which borders northeastern Ukraine. At the least 24 individuals have been injured there, Gov. Aleksandr Gusev mentioned on Telegram.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would decide about how to reply to Trump.
“The U.S. president’s statements are very serious,” Peskov advised reporters throughout a each day briefing. “Some of them are addressed personally to President Putin. We definitely need time to analyze what was said in Washington.”
Trump has additionally threatened sanctions if Russia does not come to the negotiating desk. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, mentioned in an interview with NPR’s Morning Version that he welcomed the extra armaments for Ukraine and mentioned he’ll proceed to push for sanctions in opposition to Russia along with his co-sponsor Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Blumenthal mentioned Trump’s evolution on Russia and the conflict and his willingness to ship extra weapons, is “a remarkable shift” and displays his frustration with Putin and his unwillingness to barter.
“And clearly there is a personal element,” Blumenthal mentioned, “the sense of betrayal, but also a clear understanding that Russians are mercilessly and murderously continuing to bomb and attack civilians, hospitals, homes.
The Federation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank, said increasing the weapons flow to Ukraine also helps American industry and sends a message beyond Kyiv and Moscow.
“In live performance with more durable sanctions on the Kremlin, supporting Kyiv whereas increasing U.S. protection manufacturing and stockpiles is a smart, sustainable, and needed technique to safe American pursuits, compel Putin to barter critically, and deter new aggression in Europe or the Pacific.”
