More US air defence is on the way to help Ukraine

Ukraine is getting more help in its war with Russia.

A Patriot air-defense system that was based in Israel will be sent to Ukraine after it is refurbished, four current and former US officials said in recent days, and Western allies are discussing the logistics of Germany or Greece giving another one.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, declined to describe President Donald Trump's view of the decision to transfer more Patriot systems to Ukraine.

The White House's National Security Council does not provide details on the strength and placement of defense systems, said James Hewitt, a spokesperson for the council. "President Trump has been clear: He wants the war in Ukraine to end and the killing to stop," he said.

A former White House official said that the Biden administration had secured the agreement with Israel in September, before the election won by Trump. The Defense Department said in a statement that "it continues to provide equipment to Ukraine from previously authorized" packages, referring to weaponry pulled from existing inventories and new purchases.

The delivery, which has not been previously reported, comes as Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine, including an April 24 missile strike on Kyiv, the capital, that was the deadliest since last summer.

A year ago, allies struggled to answer a demand by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for seven Patriot systems. Although Ukraine now has eight, only six are functioning. The other two are being refurbished, one of the U.S. officials said. With the one from Israel, and one from Germany or Greece, Ukraine would have 10 Patriot systems in total, largely to protect Kyiv.

As Russia has intensified recent attacks, Trump's recent public remarks on the war have softened in favor of Ukraine.

Trump had a cordial meeting with Zelenskyy at Pope Francis' funeral in Rome last weekend, after a disastrous one in February in the Oval Office. He has dialed down his negative rhetoric about Zelenskyy and questioned whether Russia is serious about peace talks. A delayed minerals deal with Ukraine was signed Wednesday, paving the way for more U.S. military aid.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that the minerals deal could mean the United States would send more air-defense systems.

Under U.S. export rules for sensitive defense equipment, the United States must approve any transfers of the American-made Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, even if they were coming via other countries. The systems are scarce, and their deployment is often a shell game of world hot spots, figuring out which global crisis requires them most to defend U.S. troops, bases and allies.

Trump has made ending the war a signature goal of U.S. foreign policy, but at the same time, has flipped that policy on its head. Even though Russia started the war, Trump has frequently expressed admiration for its president, Vladimir Putin, and adopted some Russian talking points, such as saying that Ukraine should not be able to join NATO and that Ukraine was somehow responsible for the war despite being invaded.

Since the start of the war, Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked for more Patriot systems, saying they were essential to defend his country. Each Patriot surface-to-air system consists of a battery with a powerful radar system and mobile launchers that fire missiles to intercept incoming projectiles.

The United States first sent a Patriot system to Ukraine in April 2023. By January 2024, there were already missile shortages.

On Friday, Col. Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson in Ukraine's air force, said it was no secret that Ukraine needed more air defenses. "We are really waiting" for supplies, he said.

Since taking office, Trump has publicly brushed off Zelenskyy's requests for more Patriots, which Zelenskyy has recently offered to buy. When asked about Zelenskyy's request to buy Patriots almost three weeks ago, Trump said the Ukrainian leader was "always looking to purchase missiles."

But Russia has been increasing its attacks on Ukrainian cities -- including an exploding drone attack on Kyiv on Sunday that wounded 11 people -- ever since the United States started pushing peace talks in February.

On April 24, a Russian ballistic missile killed 13 people and injured almost 90 others in Kyiv. In a rare rebuke of Putin, Trump wrote on social media, "Vladimir, STOP!" He later said there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas. "It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along."

The attack starkly illustrated how Russia can overwhelm Patriot systems, often by sending a barrage of drones and missiles almost simultaneously. Nearly 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and about 150 attack drones targeted cities across Ukraine that night, although Kyiv was hit the hardest.

Ukraine lacked the air defenses to shoot down that many missiles and drones, said Ihor Klymenko, the country's minister of internal affairs.

The next night, Zelenskyy renewed his offer to buy Patriots. "We are ready to purchase the necessary number of Patriot systems for our country," he said in his nightly speech. "This is not about charity."

On April 26, Zelenskyy and Trump met on the sidelines of the pope's funeral in Vatican City, leading to the apparent reset of their relationship after the Oval Office encounter in February. Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated the Ukrainian president in that meeting, saying he had not expressed sufficient gratitude for American help.

After the pope's funeral, Zelenskyy said he and Trump had talked about a deal to share in the profit from extraction of Ukraine's natural resources. Trump later said Zelenskyy asked for Patriot missiles.

"He told me that he needs more weapons," Trump told reporters. "He's been saying that for three years." But then, he added, "Look, he wants to do something good for his country."

On Wednesday, the United States and Ukraine signed the minerals deal. While it does not explicitly mention security guarantees for Ukraine, it ensures the possibility of shipments of American weapons to Ukraine if a peace deal is not reached with Russia.

While Ukraine is still receiving weapons authorized under Biden, those supplies are expected to end this summer.

The Patriot systems cost at least $1 billion to build and about 90 troops to run.

Data compiled by the weapons trackers at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London suggest about 186 Patriot systems are in operation worldwide. The United States owns about one-third of them and has sent many abroad to protect allies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Several dozen Patriots have been sent to the Indo-Pacific region because of threats from China and North Korea, although the United States recently moved at least one to the Middle East to safeguard Israel.

European allies own about 40 systems, including the eight now in Ukraine.

The ninth Patriot coming from Israel and being overhauled for Ukraine is an older model, according to two of the U.S. officials. It is expected to be delivered to Ukraine by this summer. Germany and Greece together own about 15 Patriot systems, according to the international institute's data.

Kateryna Stepanenko, a Russia analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based organization, said the increased Russian strikes likely sought in part to deplete some of Ukraine's air defenses and stocks.

"Part of it is a psychological and political campaign that the Kremlin is waging, in which it's trying to scare Ukrainian people into essentially accepting capitulation, when the realities of the battlefield for Russia are far from Russia actually winning," Stepanenko said in an interview.