President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine has made “important progress” this week to strengthen its air defense capabilities.
In his evening address, Zelensky said that Ukraine is “preparing agreements that will strengthen its defense capabilities and provide more operational capabilities” as Russia continues targeting civilian areas across the country with its deadly missiles and drones.
“We are doing everything to get more modern and powerful systems for Ukraine,” he said. “This week we have made important progress on the issue of air defense.”
Zelensky’s report comes a day after multiple Western media reports claiming that the U.S. is planning to supply Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine.
Previously Kyiv’s requests for Patriot systems had been rejected by NATO allies over concerns that providing such a system could risk escalating the war.
While Ukraine’s air defense has improved over the past few months, receiving a Patriot system would enable it to shoot down ballistic missiles and aircraft more effectively.
A Patriot missile’s altitudes can go as high as 24,000 meters, and it can be launched at targets located as far as 160 kilometers away.
