WSJ: White House considering transferring another Patriot air defense system to Ukraine

The US President Donald Trump is considering sending another Patriot air defense system to Ukraine after recently promising to strengthen Kyivʼs defenses against Russian attacks.

This was reported anonymously by two officials to The Wall Street Journal.

According to one of them, the White House has asked the Pentagon to provide additional weapons options for Ukraine, including the Patriot system.

The transfer of another Patriot system would be a significant step for the White House, as it would be the first time Trump would approve the provision of a major weapons system to Ukraine beyond the number previously authorized by the administration of previous President Joe Biden.

He also said that officials are exploring the possibility of involving other countries in supplying Patriot batteries to Kyiv. Axios reported the day before that Trump had offered Germany the opportunity to sell one of its existing Patriot batteries to Ukraine.

Stopping aid to Ukraine

Politico reported on July 2, citing sources, that the Pentagon is halting the delivery of some ammunition to Ukraine that was allocated under former US President Joe Biden. This includes missiles for Patriot air defense systems. Military aid to Ukraine has been halted despite a report that it does not threaten the combat readiness of the US army.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said the decision was made “to put America’s interests first”. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Ukraine had not received any official notices about the suspension or revision of the schedules of the US defense assistance deliveries approved by the previous administration. The Defense Ministry requested a telephone conversation with its US counterparts to clarify the details.

The US President Donald Trump promised on July 8 to send more weapons to Ukraine. And Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell officially announced the sending of “additional defensive weapons to Ukraine so that the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to ensure a lasting peace and stop the killing”. He did not specify what weapons were involved.

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