Ukraine is finalizing a contract to acquire approximately 1,000 missiles for its US-designed Patriot air-defense systems. The deal, facilitated by allies and supported through a loan from the European Union, was confirmed by Kyiv’s defense minister on Tuesday.
In comments posted later by the Defence Ministry, Khmara said Ukraine was asking its Western partners to provide more air defence missiles from their stocks in exchange for improvements in missile performance under contracts signed with Kyiv. Russia resumed its near-constant drone and missile attacks on Kyiv on Tuesday after a brief halt for the visit of US peace negotiators. He said Ukraine was being hindered by a shortfall of $27 billion in financing for drone supplies.
Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Yevhenii Khmara also said that the majority of the missiles would only be shipped in the coming years, and called for more urgent aid. The ministry’s summary of the meeting said Khmara had presented a plan for Ukraine’s conduct of the war that was already being implemented along with a list of what Kyiv considered to be the biggest threats posed by Moscow. Khmara said Russia was making no strategic gains along the 1,200-km (750-mile) front line, but Moscow was making up for its battlefield failures with “terror against Ukrainians”. Officials said five people were killed in the capital along with others in various regions.
