United States (US) President Joe Biden has now promised to provide advanced air defense systems to Ukraine after Russian missiles rained down on the capital Kyiv and other cities, said the White House in an official statement.
President Joe Biden spoke with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemning the strikes and pledging US security assistance “including advanced air defense systems”. Although which air defense systems have been discussed is still not clear, the US has previously committed to providing Ukraine with National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) as it would be capable of engaging Russian cruise missiles.
After a phone call with Biden, Zelensky tweeted, “productive conversation with Potus. Air defense is currently the number 1 priority in our defense cooperation. We also need US leadership with the G7’s tough stance and with the support of our UN GA resolution”.
According to the General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russia launched a total of 84 cruise missiles against targets across Ukraine. The attack comes 48-hour after the bridge between Ukraine and Russia was blown. While Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the strikes were a response to what he described as acts of terrorism by Kyiv, specifically refering to the explosion on the Kerch Bridge.