The US is accelerating the delivery of interceptor missiles to Ukraine, reports WSJ via Reuters
(Reuters) – The United States will send more than 500 interceptor missiles to Ukraine in the coming weeks, speeding up the delivery of Washington’s military aid to the war-torn country, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
Citing an unnamed Pentagon official, the WSJ reported that before the US presidential election, when former Republican President Donald Trump defeated his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, the US administration intended to deliver the rest of its aid to Ukraine in April.
The delivery of Patriot missile defense interceptors and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS, should meet Ukraine’s air defense needs by the end of this year, the newspaper reported, citing an unnamed US official.
Reuters could not independently verify the Wall Street Journal report.
The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the Pentagon and the US State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
For months, Zelenskiy has been asking for more weapons and NATO allies to help Ukraine strike deeper into Russia with long-range Western missiles.
Russia’s 2-1/2-year-old war in Ukraine has sparked the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the depths of the Cold War, and Russian officials say the war is entering its most dangerous phase.
On Friday, President Joe Biden’s administration said it would allow US defense contractors to work in Ukraine to store and repair Pentagon-supplied weapons, in a policy shift aimed at helping Kyiv fight Russia.
