On the defensive in his country after his failed debate with Donald Trump, Joe Biden announced on Tuesday July 9 the sending of anti-aircraft defense systems to Ukraine, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington.
“Russia will not win,” the American president forcefully declared in a highly anticipated speech, after questions about his ability to defend the colors of the Democratic camp, four months before the presidential election. He was participating with the leaders, or their representatives, of the 32 NATO countries in a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Atlantic Alliance. In a joint statement, several NATO countries, including the United States, confirmed the dispatch of a total of five of these systems, including four Patriot batteries. This American-designed surface-to-air missile system is particularly effective in intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
The fifth air defense system announced Tuesday is a battery of SAMP/T, missile systems of Franco-Italian manufacture, which Italy had already said it was ready to deliver. Only a Patriot battery, the one donated by the United States, represents a novelty compared to what kyiv has been promised in recent weeks, after repeated calls from its president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The latter, who arrived in Washington on Tuesday, thanked the allies for their “strong declaration” of support. In a speech in the evening, he also called on them, and particularly the United States, not to wait for the result of the American elections in November to affirm their support for his country at war. “It is time to come out of the shadows, to make strong decisions, to work, to act and not to wait for November or any other month,” he declared.
“More F-16 aircraft”
Ukraine was the target of deadly Russian strikes on Monday, which left 43 dead and some 200 injured, Volodymyr Zelensky announced in his speech in Washington. They notably devastated the country’s largest children’s hospital.
The allies also pledged to provide more Patriot or equivalent systems “this year,” and “dozens” of tactical air defense systems “in the coming months.” “Today is Washington,” Zelensky said earlier in his daily video address. “We are fighting for more air defenses” and “more F-16 aircraft,” which are expected to be delivered to Ukraine soon, he added.
The United States will also reschedule the delivery of missile batteries, so that kyiv can have “hundreds of additional surface-to-air interceptors throughout the next year,” according to a joint statement from the United States, the Netherlands, Romania, Germany, Italy and Ukraine.
Promise of NATO membership
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recalled in his speech that the Alliance was not a “given” but the “result of deliberate choices and difficult decisions”. The same goes for support for Ukraine, which requires “costs and risks”.
“There are no cost-free options with an aggressive Russia as a neighbor,” he said, recalling that the “highest cost and the greatest risk would be if Russia wins in Ukraine.”
On the occasion of this summit, kyiv also hopes, but without illusions, that its candidacy to join the Atlantic Alliance will advance in Washington. Ukraine wants to receive a formal invitation to do so, but several countries, including the United States, are opposed to it. On the other hand, it should obtain that this promise of membership be “irreversible”, according to a diplomat, specifying however that certain conditions would be added. Russia announced on Tuesday that it would follow with “maximum attention” this summit of the 75th anniversary of the Atlantic Alliance.