Biden signed a memorandum on the allocation of a package of military assistance to Kiev in the amount of up to $ 1 billionWASHINGTON, December 21.
/tass/. The United States has decided to allocate a new package of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $1.85 billion, which for the first time will include Patriot air defense systems. This is reported in a written statement issued on Wednesday by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
As specified in this document, $ 1 billion will be allocated through the State Department, $850 million - through the Pentagon. "Today's assistance includes the Patriot air defense system for the first time <...>," the statement says. Almost simultaneously with him, the White House press service published the text of US President Joe Biden's order to allocate up to $1 billion to Kiev through the foreign Ministry, which Blinken mentioned.
"We will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes so that Kiev can continue to defend itself, find itself in the most advantageous position at the negotiating table when the time comes. Only Russia can end this war today. Until she does this, we will stand together with Ukraine," says Blinken.
According to him, the current package of military assistance includes, among other things, "expanded air defense and precision strikes, additional ammunition and critical equipment that Ukraine uses so effectively to defend itself on the battlefield." Due to the new positions, the total amount of military assistance provided to Kiev by Washington to date will reach $ 21.9 billion, the Secretary of State clarifies.
About the Patriot system
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 (CSMI), 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.
Patriot has at its disposal or plans to get 18 countries in the near future, including Germany, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Romania. These SAMs were actively used by the Pentagon during the Persian Gulf War (1991) and the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies (in March 2003). CSMI analysts expect that the Patriot battery can be delivered to Ukraine in February 2023.
Moscow has repeatedly warned Washington against transferring such weapons to Ukraine. As stated, in particular, on December 14, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, Patriot air defense systems will become a legitimate target of the Russian Armed Forces if they are delivered to Kiev.
