The US leader also stressed that the US administration does not believe that the transfer of American Patriot air defense systems to Kiev leads to escalation.WASHINGTON, December 22.
/tass/. The United States and other Western countries do not seek war with Russia or World War III by supplying weapons to Ukraine. This was stated on Wednesday by US President Joe Biden at a joint press conference with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky following talks at the White House.
"You may recall one of the reasons why I spent a lot of time - I won't tell you these calculations - but I spent several hundred hours face-to-face with our European allies and the heads of state of these countries, proving why it is in their interests to continue supporting Ukraine. They fully understand this, but they don't want a war with Russia. They don't want a third World war. And I think that all this can be avoided if we make sure that Ukraine can succeed on the battlefield," Biden argued, speaking about arms supplies to Kiev.
Biden was asked if Washington could immediately transfer to Kiev all the necessary weapons and equipment, for example MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missiles (firing range up to 310 km). The journalist recalled that at the beginning of the year, the United States refused to transfer Patriot complexes to Ukraine, explaining this as an "unnecessary escalation," and now they are sending a battery of this complex. "His answer is yes," Biden replied, pointing at Zelensky, and they both laughed. "I agree," the Ukrainian leader added.
The situation with the supply of weapons
The head of the Washington administration explained why the United States cannot immediately provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons. "There is a whole alliance for which it is critically important to stay with Ukraine. And the idea that we will give Ukraine material resources that are fundamentally different from what is already being sent there will have the prospect of a split of NATO, a split of the European Union and the rest of the world. We are going to provide Ukraine with what it needs so that it can defend itself, so that it can succeed and succeed on the battlefield," the head of state replied.
According to the American president, before the start of a special military operation, Washington provided Kiev with "huge assistance in the field of security." "We gave Ukraine what they needed when they needed to defend themselves," the president added. He confirmed that the volume of American aid provided to Kiev has exceeded $21 billion since the end of February this year. "We are focused on working with allies and partners to build [Ukraine's] capacity in four key areas," Biden stressed. He explained that we are talking about the supply of air defense, modern artillery systems, armored vehicles and ammunition.
About escalation and additional supplies
In addition, Joe Biden said that the US administration does not believe that the transfer of Patriot complexes to Kiev leads to escalation, Washington is working on the possibility of additional supplies.
"This is a defense system, this is a defense weapons system. This does not lead to escalation, it is for defense purposes. We would be glad if they didn't have to use it, just stop the attacks," he said, answering a question about whether the transfer of these weapons to Kiev could lead to escalation. Biden added that he "did not discuss at all" with Zelensky the possibility of aggravating the situation.
To the remark of the President of Ukraine about the possibility of Kiev applying for additional Patriot systems, Biden replied with a laugh: "We are working on it."
Patriot - army mobile air defense systems - began to enter service in the United States in the 1980s. Manufactured by Raytheon Corporation, they are capable of hitting aircraft, drones, cruise missiles, and short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. One battery includes from five to eight mobile installations. Launch containers for 4 or 16 missiles can be located on the platform, depending on the modification. According to experts from the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies, Patriot will become "the most expensive weapon system supplied by the United States to Ukraine" at the moment. Each SAM costs about $1.1 billion: 400 million - launchers, command module and radar, about 700 million - interceptor missiles. One missile of the latest modification costs the Pentagon $4.1 million.
