The Donald Trump administration is moving forward with a Joe Biden-era plan to move a retired Patriot missile system from Israel to Ukraine. Washington will upgrade the air defense platform before transferring control to Kiev.
The New York Times reported the move on Sunday, citing four current and former US officials who confirmed that Trump planned to go through with sending a Patriot system to Kiev, despite his stated objections to continuing what he calls “Biden’s war” in Ukraine.
The plan to transfer a Patriot battery would also see Germany or Greece send a second system, giving Kiev a total of 10, though one official said two of them are currently not functioning. A Ukrainian official admitted on Friday that his forces lacked adequate air defenses.
The Patriot system set to be transferred from Israel is an older model that will be upgraded. The US recently deployed a Patriot and multiple THAAD air defense systems to the Middle East to defend Israel.
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered to buy more air defense platforms, Kiev is still largely dependent on aid transfers from Washington. However, last week, a natural resources deal between Washington and Kiev was signed that could give Ukraine access to funds to buy more American weapons.
Trump met Zelensky at the Vatican during Pope Francis’s funeral. The Ukrainian left the meeting feeling he had successfully swayed his American counterpart to take a harder line on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following the meeting, Trump criticized Putin for targeting Ukrainian cities in a missile attack.
