Pentagon to 'rush' Patriot missiles to Ukraine

The Pentagon has said it volition "rush" Patriot aerial defence missiles and artillery ammunition to Ukraine arsenic portion of a $6bn (£4.8bn) subject aid.

Its the 2nd bundle from Washington this week, pursuing $1bn successful much contiguous assistance announced connected Wednesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier connected Friday that Kyiv "urgently" needs Patriot missiles successful the look of increasing Russia aerial threats.

Mr Zelensky said Patriots were "what tin and should prevention lives close now".

The US volition "move immediately" to get the supplies to Ukraine, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said connected Friday.

However a database of the instrumentality successful the package, supplied by the Defence Department, did not see further Patriot launchers - thing Mr Zelensky says his state desperately needs.

It is the largest information assistance bundle the US has committed to date, Mr Austin said, and includes aerial defence munitions, counter-drone systems, artillery ammunition an captious intercepts for Patriot aerial defence systems.

"It's not conscionable Patriots that they need, they request different types of systems and interceptors arsenic well," Mr Austin said. "I would caution america each successful presumption of making Patriot the metallic bullet."

The announcement comes days aft President Biden signed a long-awaited assistance bundle containing $61bn successful subject enactment for Ukraine.

Ukraine lone has a fistful of Patriots to complement different Western rocket defence systems and existing stocks of Soviet-era surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), specified arsenic the S-300.

They are the astir susceptible and costly aerial defence systems that Ukraine has. Each Patriot artillery costs astir $1bn (£800m), and each rocket costs astir $4m.

Germany has already promised an other Patriot strategy - and its defence and overseas ministers appealed to their European counterparts earlier this period to respond urgently.

Greece has stocks of Patriots and S-300s but said nary could beryllium spared. We explained wherefore we cannot bash it," helium told Skai TV.

His said his country's aerial defences were "critical systems for the extortion of Greek aerial space".

According to reports, Spain volition proviso immoderate Patriot missiles but not a afloat system.