Biden administration to prioritize Patriot missile deliveries to Ukraine

The White House plans to suspend all open orders for Patriot systems and interceptor missiles to redirect all deliveries to Ukraine, reports the British daily Financial Times.

The FT reports that Joe Biden's administration will announce its decision on Thursday. The British daily recalls that the US president declared that he had committed to supplying Ukraine with additional air defence systems at the G7 summit last week.

Joe Biden stated that five countries agreed to send Patriots and other air defence systems to Ukraine, and other countries that ordered them will have to wait, as "everything we have is going to go to Ukraine until their needs are met".

The Financial Times bases its information on three independent sources. They told the daily that Thursday's statement by the Biden administration would codify his commitment to Kyiv and ensure that Ukraine receives Patriot systems to protect critical infrastructure and Ukrainian cities from intensified Russian shelling.

Spain, Greece, and Romania have Patriots in their arsenals but have refused to agree to their transfer to Ukraine. Poland stresses that its Patriots protect infrastructure used to transport Western weapons to Ukraine, and therefore, they are already deployed to safeguard their neighbour from Russian aggression. Italy stated in June that it would send Kyiv a second SAMP/T air defence system, a European alternative to the Patriot.

The FT states that the Patriot systems are the most advanced air defence weapons in the American arsenal. They have a radar system and mobile launchers to fire interceptor missiles towards incoming missiles or aircraft. Ukraine currently has at least four Patriot systems delivered by the USA and Germany.