US Ambassador to NATO Julianna Smith stated “There will be fresh news on air defense. The Ukrainians asked NATO for seven Patriot systems in April. And we have a very positive response on that, which will come in the next few days”
by TotalSpaceNut
US Ambassador to NATO Julianna Smith stated “There will be fresh news on air defense. The Ukrainians asked NATO for seven Patriot systems in April. And we have a very positive response on that, which will come in the next few days”
by TotalSpaceNut
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“A very positive response.” The US ambassador to NATO announced Patriots for Ukraine
Positive news regarding air defense, in particular Patriot systems, awaits Ukraine at the NATO summit in Washington. US Ambassador to NATO Julianna Smith stated this on Monday, July 8, during the Foreign Policy online discussion “NATO in a new era” .
“There will be fresh news on air defense. The Ukrainians asked NATO for seven Patriot systems in April. And we have a very positive response on that, which will come in the next few days,” Smith said.
She noted that “it will be a big week” in Washington. And she urged to follow “specific announcements that will come for Ukraine, for NATO allies, news about defense production, about sustainability, about cyber security.”
The ambassador also noted that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, during the summit, “will feel the steadfast commitment to Ukraine” from NATO.
“We will have a financial commitment, according to which both Ukraine and Moscow will understand very clearly that we, the transatlantic partners, will not back down. As you know, Putin predicted that we would all turn away. We are not distracted. We are focused on the issue of Ukraine and are going to stick to the chosen course, so keep an eye out for announcements of financial commitments,” Smith said.
She also noted that a “bridge to membership” will be prepared for Ukraine during the summit.
“What does this mean? It means that the alliance will announce that it will take on the role of coordinator of the aid that comes to Ukraine, as well as the training of Ukrainian forces that we are all currently conducting,” the ambassador said.
She added that NATO plans to appoint a new senior representative in Kyiv “who will help lead the work that NATO is doing with the Ukrainians on things like modernization, interoperability, standardization.”
At the same time, she confirmed that “the alliance will not invite Ukraine to join now, in July 2024.”
Julianne Smith noted that the summit in Washington will allow members of the alliance to demonstrate the support of the alliance from the US side, which, according to the ambassador, is bipartisan:
“All 50 states will be represented. They will see the active participation of both parties, both the Senate and the House of Representatives. They (summit participants – ed.) will feel the commitment of the United States to this alliance.”
On the other hand, Smith is convinced, the summit will make it possible to convince the Americans that Washington is not alone in supporting Ukraine:
“The Europeans provide not only important economic and humanitarian aid. The European Union provides weapons, an important defense potential worth billions of euros. Therefore, when you look at what is happening around Ukraine, it is a joint effort. This is a transatlantic project. We are trying to understand this people on both sides of the Atlantic, but especially here in the United States.”
As the Voice of America reported , the former US ambassador to NATO in 2017-2021, Kay Bailey Hutchison , said that NATO’s strength will not be lost in the event of Donald T rump’s probable victory in the US presidential elections , because the majority of Congress and the American public support the alliance, and NATO funding is in the interests of Washington.
Can we please get these before another children’s hospital is hit. Their bureaucracy is killing our children
Air defence is ok but really we need to be taking this war into Moscow itself
Im sad to see the pattern where a tragedy has to happen in order for western allies to make a move that should have been done 2 years ago.
Finally…….
best air defence is to squash russian aircrafts and launching sites
Give ukraine the means to attack what launches the missiles and they wont need defense
Very positive response?
Is that the same as saying YES?
Just give them the Patriot systems they need.
Spoiler spoiler