US To Send Another Patriot Missile System To Ukraine After Repeated Demands

US President Joe Biden has approved the deployment of another Patriot missile system to Ukraine amid raging conflict with Russia, the New York Times reported citing senior administration and military officials.

Biden’s decision came last week, the officials said, after a series of high-level meetings and an internal debate over how to meet Ukraine’s pressing needs for bolstered air defences without jeopardizing US combat readiness. This comes as Kyiv is struggling to fend off Russian attacks on its cities, infrastructure and electrical grid.

The new Patriot system -- the second that the United States has sent to Ukraine -- will come from Poland, where it has been protecting a rotational force of American troops who will be returning to the US, officials said.

According to the officials, the system could be deployed to Ukraine’s front lines in the next several days, depending on any maintenance or modifications it needs.

Considered one of the United States’ best air defence weapons, the Patriot includes a powerful radar system and mobile launchers that fire missiles at incoming projectiles, as reported by the NYT.