NATO summit:

USA and partners want to strengthen Kiev’s air defenses

US President Joe Biden at the 75th anniversary of NATO(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The USA and other NATO countries want to supply Ukraine with additional equipment to defend against Russian air attacks, as announced by US President Joe Biden at a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the defense alliance in Washington.

Dozens of tactical air defense systems - such as the Nasams or Iris-T - are to go to Kiev, according to the joint statement by the NATO states. "These systems will further expand and strengthen Ukraine's air defense." The joint statement was issued by the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Italy, among others. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in Washington that his country would donate six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, as the Oslo newspaper VG reported.

The war-torn country is also to receive hundreds of additional interceptor missiles over the next year. These are to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian missiles, Biden promised in his speech to the heads of state and government.

The Patriot air defense missile system

The Patriot air defense missile system is one of the most modern in the world: it is used to combat enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. The defensive missiles can hit targets at a distance of around 100 kilometers and at altitudes of up to 30 kilometers in an imaginary bell around the position - depending on the missile used. Using radar, the Patriot system first assesses which flying objects in the sky belong to the enemy. In the event of a threat, soldiers in the control center fire the missiles to render the targets harmless.

Ukraine cannot adequately protect cities
Over the past few months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged that more Patriot systems are needed to adequately defend Ukrainian cities and conurbations.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on his arrival at the NATO summit in Washington(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Andrew Harnik)

The USA had already provided a Patriot system for Ukraine. Biden had approved the delivery around a year and a half ago when Selensky traveled to the USA on his first trip abroad since the start of the Russian war of aggression. The US government also regularly supplies Ukraine with Patriot missiles.

According to Kiev, it has received a total of four Patriot systems to date. Three of these came from Germany, while another was promised by Romania, among others.

Ukraine main topic at NATO summit in Washington
The war in Ukraine is one of the main topics at the NATO summit in Washington. The meeting coincides with the hot phase of the election campaign in the United States. Presidential elections will be held in the US in November - and Biden is fighting on all fronts to save his candidacy for the election following his TV debacle against challenger Donald Trump. The 81-year-old made a disastrous appearance in the evening TV debate a week ago, made several promises and lost the plot. As a result, a new debate broke out in the USA about whether Biden is the right Democratic candidate for the presidential election in November.