US working with allies on deliveries of new Patriot systems to Ukraine – US state secretary

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the United States is working closely with NATO allies that possess a certain number of Patriot air defence systems to encourage them to transfer them to Ukraine.

Source: Marco during a hearing in the US Senate, as reported by European Pravda 

Details: Responding to a question from Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Rubio emphasised that aside from a one-week pause, the US has not halted deliveries of previously approved aid to Ukraine.

New aid packages, however, are another matter, he noted.

"The White House would have to make a determination about whether to come to Congress for a supplemental. But everything that’s been approved and congressionally appropriated is ongoing," Rubio said, adding that not all Ukrainian requests can be fulfilled.

He emphasised that Ukraine has specifically asked for Patriot systems, "which, frankly, we don’t have".

"But we are working closely with our NATO allies – there are NATO allies that do have some batteries of Patriot missiles that they could provide or transfer over to the Ukrainians – to defend, for example, the airspace of Kyiv and other places. And we’ve been encouraging on that front," he said.

"As you can imagine, none of these countries want to give up their Patriot systems either. We can’t make them fast enough," Rubio noted. 

He reiterated the position that there is no military solution to the war and that everything will have to be resolved at the negotiating table.

"The fundamental challenge we have in Ukraine is this: Russia wants what they do not currently have and they’re not entitled to. And Ukraine wants what they cannot regain militarily," he said.

Background: 

• Recently, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that Ukraine may receive the necessary number of air defence systems after the minerals agreement has been finalised with the United States.
• Ukraine has made repeated appeals to the US for air defence systems, but the Trump administration has suggested that European countries should assist in purchasing these systems.

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