Ukraine-Russia war: US ‘rushing’ new Patriot missiles to Kyiv, Pentagon says

Russia attacked Ukrainian energy facilities in three regions in the early hours today, officials said.

The attacks damaged equipment and injured at least one energy worker, Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko said.

Russian strikes targeted the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine and the western regions of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, Mr Galushchenko said on Telegram.

The number of missiles used by Russia in these attacks is not immediately clear.

Ukraine’s foreign minister doubled down on the government’s move to bolster the pool of fighting forces by cutting off consular services to conscription-age men outside the country, saying it was a question of “justice.”

Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba yesterday said the policy would ensure men in Ukraine and those who have left were both treated fairly.

“It’s about justice – justice in the relationship between Ukrainian men abroad and Ukrainian men inside of Ukraine,” he said.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded in more than two years of fighting. Russia has also suffered heavy losses, but has vastly more conscripts to throw into the fight.

Poland, home to hundreds of thousands of displaced Ukrainians, has indicated it’s willing to help ensure military-age men go home. The defence ministry said in a statement that “Poland is ready to assist Ukraine due to the needs of the Ukrainian army,” and that bilateral talks would be needed to agree on the arrangements.

General CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the $1bn weapons package cleared by the Biden administration for Ukraine will have a key benefit. “There’s some near-term effects,” said General Brown, who stood alongside defence secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon briefing.

“Now the Ukrainians don’t necessarily have to ration what they have because they know things are coming out of this package and there will be follow-on packages.”

The White House, earlier this week, approved the delivery of $1bn in weapons and equipment to Ukraine. Those weapons include a variety of ammunition, such as air defence munitions and large amounts of artillery rounds that are much in demand by Ukrainian forces, as well as armoured vehicles and other weapons.

That aid, however, will get to Ukraine quickly because it is being pulled off Pentagon shelves, including in warehouses in Europe.

The Pentagon has said it is “rushing” to provide fresh arms supplies to Ukraine and specifically dispatching more Patriot air defence missiles and artillery ammunition, as it finalised a new $6bn aid package.

“Together we’ll continue to work on two tracks, rushing Ukraine the capabilities to meet its urgent battlefield needs and helping Ukraine to build the future force to stave off and deter Russian aggression over the longer term,” US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said in a news conference after a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, calling the Russian invasion of Ukraine “Putin’s war of choice”.

He added: “On that first track, we pushed especially hard today to rush in more air defence systems and Interceptors. And on the second, this contact group is working with Ukraine to help it move forward — help it move toward a robust, efficient and self-reliant defence industry.”

Yesterday, the Pentagon announced that it will buy $6bn worth of new weapons for Ukraine including interceptors for the Patriot air defence system, the single largest assistance package president Joe Biden’s administration has provided.

This package has been provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) using funding appropriated by the national security supplemental which president Biden signed into law, the US Department of Defence said in a release.

This will include equipment to “augment Ukraine’s air defences, fires, and artillery, and to sustain capabilities previously committed by the United States”.

Ukraine has sidelined US-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two US military officials said.

The US agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in January 2023 after an aggressive monthslong campaign by Kyiv arguing that the tanks, which cost about $10m apiece, were vital to its ability to breach Russian lines.

But the battlefield has changed substantially since then, notably by the ubiquitous use of Russian surveillance drones and hunter-killer drones. Those weapons have made it more difficult for Ukraine to protect the tanks when they are quickly detected and hunted by Russian drones or rounds.

The US will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defence systems as part of a massive $6bn additional aid package, defence secretary Lloyd Austin said.

At a Pentagon press conference following the meeting, Mr Austin said the US was working with allies to resource additional Patriot systems but did not commit to sending more US versions.

He said he has been speaking one-on-one with a number of his European counterparts in recent days to hash out this issue and others. “It’s not just Patriots that they need, they need other types of systems and interceptors as well,” Mr Austin said. “I would caution us all in terms of making Patriot the silver bullet.”

The US defence leader said he is asking allied nations to “accept a little bit more risk” as they consider what weapons to send to Ukraine.

A number of nations have expressed some reluctance to send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine because most don’t have very many and they believe they need them for their own defence.

The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot systems. The package also includes more munitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, and additional gear to integrate Western air defence launchers, missiles and radars into Ukraine‘s existing weaponry, much of which still dates back to the Soviet era.

As the largest tranche of USAI aid sent to date, the package also includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, as well as Switchblade and Puma drones, counter drone systems and artillery.

In a nearly two-hour speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris, Mr Macron claimed the 27-member European Union (EU) was “too slow and lacks ambition” before demanding that the bloc does not become a “vassal of the United States”.

Russia is targeting Ukrainian rail lines with airstrikes to disrupt the delivery of desperately needed US weapons to the front and complicate military logistics, a Kyiv intelligence source said on Friday.

On Thursday, Ukrainian rail infrastructure was targeted by Russian strikes in the eastern Donetsk region, northeastern Kharkiv region and central Cherkasy region, the national rail company said.

The attack in Donetsk, which is the main focus of Russia’s offensive in the east, killed three electrical mechanics working for the railway company and wounded four more, it said.

In Kharkiv, which borders Russia, a strike hit the railway station in the city of Balakliia, injuring 13 people, including three rail workers, officials said. The town of Balakliia was liberated from Russian forces in 2022.

Ukrainian officials seldom provide detailed statements about strikes on sensitive military targets, but the Ukrainian intelligence source confirmed to Reuters there had been attacks on rail infrastructure aimed at disrupting the supply of weapons.

“Also, the overall complication of our logistics,” the source added.

Ukraine’s foreign minister doubled down Friday on the government’s move to bolster the pool of fighting forces by cutting off consular services to conscription-age men outside the country, saying it was a question of “justice.”

Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said the policy would ensure men in Ukraine and those who have left were both treated fairly.

“It’s about justice – justice in the relationship between Ukrainian men abroad and Ukrainian men inside of Ukraine,” he said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv needs Patriot missiles to create an air shield against further Russian missile attacks, and it’s likely he’ll get them in an additional $6 bn aid package expected to be announced by the US as soon as Friday.

Zelensky discussed the need for Patriots early Friday at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathering virtually in a Pentagon-led meeting. His address marked the second anniversary of the group, which has “moved heaven and earth” since April 2022 to source millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armored vehicles and even jets to help Ukraine rebuff Russia’s invasion, defence secretary Lloyd Austin said at the meeting.

The meeting was expected to focus largely on air defense systems, Austin said.

Zelensky said at least seven Patriot systems are needed to protect Ukrainian cities. “We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them,” Zelenskyy said. “This is what can and should save lives right now.”