WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

US, allies announce additional air defense systems for Ukraine

The United States and its allies will deliver to Ukraine five additional air defense systems, including Patriot missile batteries and Patriot components, the leaders of those countries said in a joint statement during the NATO summit.

They added that in the coming months, they intend to provide Ukraine with dozens of tactical air defense systems.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Washington, Ukraine's biggest supporter, has provided more than $50 billion in military aid since 2022. But U.S. military aid was delayed in Congress for months over the winter, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a shortage of weapons was giving Russia the upper hand.

After battle lines remained largely frozen since early in the conflict, Moscow made some advances in eastern Ukraine in recent months. Zelenskiy has urged Western governments to increase and speed up military aid to Kyiv's forces.

U.S. legislation was approved in April that provided $61 billion in funding to Ukraine. Zelenskiy said last week he wanted to double Ukraine's air defense capacity over the summer.

KEY QUOTE

President Joe Biden made the announcement in remarks at the NATO summit. A joint statement was later issued by the leaders of the U.S., the Netherlands, Romania, Italy, Germany and Ukraine.

"We are providing Ukraine with additional strategic air defense systems, including additional Patriot batteries donated by the United States, Germany, and Romania; Patriot components donated by the Netherlands and other partners to enable the operation of an additional Patriot battery; and an additional SAMP-T system donated by Italy," the joint statement said.

CONTEXT

Ukraine has repeatedly called on partners to provide more help with air defense as it faces attacks from Russia on cities and energy infrastructure.

Ukraine said Russia blasted the main children's hospital in Kyiv with a missile on Monday and rained missiles down on other cities across Ukraine, killing at least 41 civilians in the deadliest wave of air strikes for months.

Moscow has denied targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, although its attacks have killed thousands of civilians since it launched its invasion.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian forces depleted – NYT

Kiev’s foreign backers believe that Ukraine will not be able to take back its lost territories as its forces are stretched too thin, the New York Times reported on Tuesday citing anonymous sources.

US officials who reprtedly spoke to the outlet privately consider it “all but impossible” for Ukraine to win back all the territories it has lost to Russia. However, they are said to believe that if Kiev’s battlefield performance improves, it could still “emerge a victor” in the conflict by moving towards closer integration with NATO and Europe.

American officials also reportedly think that starting peace talks at this point would be a “mistake,” given that Ukraine is about to receive $61 billion approved by the US Congress in May, which is set to go towards strengthening the country's defenses.

Washington also acknowledges that this may not be enough and that Russia could still make significant headway if there is a “big strategic shift.” However, US officials believe that such a development is unlikely to happen any time soon.

“Ukrainian forces are stretched thin and face difficult months of fighting ahead, but a major Russian breakthrough is now unlikely,”Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told the outlet. His colleague and a former intelligence official, Eric Ciaramella, also suggested that neither Russia nor Ukraine currently “possess the capabilities to significantly change the battle lines.”

The NYT report comes as NATO members have gathered for a summit in Washington on Tuesday where the topic of continued support for Ukraine will be at the top of the agenda. 

It is expected the bloc’s leaders will reconfirm their willingness to back Kiev, but will likely stop short of inviting Ukraine to join the organization. Moreover, according to an AFP report, NATO will signal to Ukraine’s Zelensky that his country will be unable to become a full-fledged member for quite some time.

Ukraine’s NATO ambitions have repeatedly been cited by Russia as one of the key reasons it launched its offensive against the country back in 2022. Moscow has stressed that the US-led military bloc’s continued expansion towards its borders is a threat to Russia’s national security.

Reuters/RT