NATO boosts Ukraine’s air defence as concerns over future course of war grow

NATO leaders on Wednesday (10 June) pledged more advanced air defence capabilities and more F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to counter Russia’s intensified missile strikes on the country.

On the eve of the NATO summit on Monday (8 July), Russia launched a missile strike on Ukraine, destroying a children’s hospital in Kyiv and killing at least 40 people.

“I think what we’ve seen over the last days demonstrates the need to step up our support for Ukraine,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Tuesday (9 July).

US President Joe Biden earlier on Monday had said that after Russia’s latest missile attack, Washington and its NATO allies would be announcing new measures to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences.

Western officials had until then refrained from detailing what the plan to boost Ukraine’s defence capabilities would entail.

Five more systems 

On Tuesday evening, Biden then announced a “historic donation” of equipment for five additional air defence systems from the US and some other NATO members.

“Collectively, we are providing Ukraine with additional strategic air defence systems, including additional Patriot batteries donated by the United States, Germany, and Romania; Patriot components donated by the Netherlands and other partners to enable the operation of an additional Patriot battery; and an additional SAMP-T system donated by Italy,” the participating countries said in a joint statement.

Biden said that in the coming months, Washington and its NATO partners would also send Ukraine “dozens” of additional systems, without specifying the number or kind of equipment.

“All told, Ukraine will receive hundreds of additional interceptors over the next year, helping protect Ukrainian cities against Russian missiles,” Biden said.

However, some of the pledges were part of previous commitments, with the Netherlands’ back-dating to May, while Italy and Romania had unveiled theirs in June.

Over the past months, Ukraine has requested more US-manufactured Patriot air defence systems to protect its skies.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Washington stressing he would “fight” for strong NATO decisions to strengthen his country’s air defences and for more F-16 fighter jets.

“We are fighting for additional security guarantees for Ukraine – and these are weapons and finances, political support,” Zelenskyy said in a video message.

However, Ukraine’s Western allies have been struggling to find more available Patriot batteries, given that most of the systems are placed in strategic locations or part of national or NATO defence plans.

At the same time, Western military officials say the push to provide F-16s and train Ukrainian pilots to operate them has been delayed due to slow progress and a lack of pilots.

‘Well beyond 2025’

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told a US Chamber of Commerce forum of defence industry representatives in Washington on Tuesday (9 July) that NATO is committed to standing with Ukraine in the long term.

He added that the series of NATO measures to strengthen Western support for Ukraine would include a new military command in Germany for training and equipping Ukrainian troops and the appointment of a senior NATO representative in Kyiv to deepen Ukraine’s relationship with the alliance.

Sullivan added, “Putin cannot divide us, he cannot outlast us, he cannot weaken us – and Ukraine, not Russia, will prevail.”

NATO diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the recent devastating strike was not only showing the urgency of supplying Ukraine with more air defences but was also seen as a message by Russia that Moscow does not intend to back down.

One senior NATO official briefing reporters on the sidelines in Washington said that when it comes to the prospects for resolving the conflict, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin would believe that time was on his side.

“What we see today are still very high Russian losses. Russia is attempting to take ground,” they said.

The estimate was that Russia would be able to sustain its war economy for three to four more years, which could make the war last well beyond 2025, the NATO official said.

However, Russia would lack the ammunition and manpower to start a major offensive in Ukraine, they said.

“We’ve seen Ukrainian defences improve significantly,” the NATO official added.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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