The US presidential administration is considering the possibility of transferring Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, CNN reports . According to media reports, discussions have reached the "final stage", a decision could be announced as early as this week. The channel cites information from two US officials and a senior administration official.
CNN notes that Patriot on the territory of Ukraine will help ensure the security of the airspace for NATO countries in Eastern Europe. It's unclear how many missile launchers will be sent, but a typical Patriot battery includes a radar that detects and tracks targets, computers, electrical power equipment, a battle control station, and up to eight launchers, each containing four missiles ready to fire.
It is expected that after the plans are agreed upon, the Patriots will be transferred to Ukraine as soon as possible, training in their use will be held at the US Army base in Grafenwöhr, Germany.
The Patriot complex can destroy aerodynamic and ballistic targets at a distance of 160 km and 50 km, respectively. however, they have an important disadvantage – this is the cost, as well as management. "Patriots" is an expensive, technologically complex, capricious system in terms of operation and maintenance. One Patriot battery costs approximately $1 billion and requires 70 skilled personnel.
Ukraine has repeatedly requested these complexes from the United States. Especially often they began to talk about the transfer after the fall of the Ukrainian air defense missile in Poland. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that such supplies could be perceived by Russia as provocative. Instead of "Patriots" Ukraine planned to buy their European counterpart – medium SAMP-T air defense systems.
On December 10, it was reported that the United States no longer objects to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory. “They decide how they use their weapons. But when they use what we have supplied, we only insist that the Armed Forces of Ukraine abide by the international laws of war and the Geneva Conventions, ”a Pentagon source told The Times. The requirements prevent Ukraine from using American weapons to target civilians.
