Russia launched a deadly missile strike in Ukraine this week, renewing its call on the United States and its partners to provide the government in Kyiv with advanced air defenses capable of knocking down incoming fire.
The massacre — which stretched from Lviv in the west to the city of Kharkiv in the east — could have been worse. Ukraine’s military intercepted about half of the 84 missiles and 24 armed drones fired by Russia on Monday and Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. More strikes were reported on Wednesday.
Zelensky told G7 leaders this week: “When Ukraine acquires a sufficient number of modern and effective air defense systems, a key element of Russian terror — rocket attacks — will no longer work.”
The Pentagon said after the attack that two U.S. air defense systems, known as NASAMS, were weeks away from delivery and that it was working to expedite the process.
Speaking at NATO headquarters in Belgium on Wednesday, Defense Minister Lloyd Austin said the United States and its partners were “doing everything we can to get the Ukrainian military as quickly as possible with everything they need to protect the Ukrainian people,” though he made no announcements any new aid.