The United States will provide a medium-to-long-range surface-to-air missile defense system to Ukraine as the country’s war with Russia rages on, reported CNN.
The missile defense system, known as a NASAMS system, “provides air defenders with a tailorable, state-of-the-art defense system that can maximize their ability to identify, engage and destroy current and evolving enemy aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicle and emerging cruise missile threats,” according to producer Raytheon.
President Joe Biden has sent several weapons shipments to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February, but Russia has stepped up airstrikes and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded partners supply modern air defense systems as Ukraine’s military is burning through its Soviet-era ammunition.
Russian missiles struck an apartment block and close to a kindergarten in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, in strikes Biden condemned as “barbarism” as world leaders gathered in Europe to discuss further sanctions against Moscow.
Up to four explosions shook central Kyiv in the early hours, in the first such attack on the city in weeks.
“The Russians hit Kyiv again. Missiles damaged an apartment building and a kindergarten,” said Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential administration.
Russia has stepped up airstrikes on Ukraine this weekend, which has also seen the fall of a strategic eastern city to pro-Russian forces.
The Biden administration has committed more than $5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, including $1 billion in mid-June that included shipments of additional howitzers, ammunition and coastal defense systems.
Biden is currently meeting with G-7 leaders in Germany for a summit primarily focused on Ukraine. Zelenskyy is slated to virtually address the U.S. president and other leaders on Monday, per CNN.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Via Newsmax