US announces new Patriot missiles for Ukraine as part of new $6 billion aid package (2024)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defense systems as part of a $6 billion additional aid package, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday.

The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot systems. The package also includes more munitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and additional gear to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles and radars into Ukraine's existing weaponry, much of which dates back to the Soviet era.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover battlefield momentum in the war.

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days. However, he was released after paying $1.77 million in bail, a statement said.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth about $6.85 million and attempted to obtain other land worth about $4.47 million.

Ukraine is trying to root out corruption and a dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the need for Patriots early Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathering virtually in a Pentagon-led meeting.

The meeting fell on the second anniversary of the group, which Austin said has "moved heaven and earth" since April 2022 to source millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armored vehicles and even jets to help Ukraine rebuff Russia's invasion.

Zelenskyy said at least seven more Patriot systems are needed to protect Ukrainian cities.

"We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them," Zelenskyy said. "This is what can and should save lives right now."

At a Pentagon news conference following the meeting, Austin said the U.S. is working with allies to resource additional Patriot systems but did not commit to sending more U.S. versions. He said he spoke one-on-one with a number of his European counterparts in recent days to hash out this issue and others.

"It's not just Patriots that they need, they need other types of systems and interceptors as well," Austin said. "I would caution us all in terms of making Patriot the silver bullet."

Austin said he will ask allied nations to "accept a little bit more risk" as they consider what weapons to send to Ukraine. A number of nations expressed some reluctance to send Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine because most don't have very many and they believe they need them for their own defense.

U.S. officials said the aid package will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term contracts with the defense industry and means that it could take months or even years for the weapons to arrive. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The new funding — the largest tranche of USAI aid sent to date — also includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket System as well as Switchblade and Puma drones, counter drone systems and artillery.

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group has met about monthly for the past two years and is the primary forum for weapons contributions to Kyiv for the war.

Friday's meeting follows the White House decision this week to approve the delivery of $1 billion in weapons and equipment to Ukraine. That aid, however, will get to Ukraine quickly because it is being pulled off Pentagon shelves, including in warehouses in Europe.

Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the $1 billion weapons package will have a key benefit.

"There's some near-term effects," said Brown, who stood alongside Austin at the Pentagon briefing. "Now the Ukrainians don't necessarily have to ration what they have because they know things are coming out of this package and there will be follow-on packages."

The large back-to-back aid approvals are the result of a new infusion of about $61 billion in funding for Ukraine that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday. They provide weapons Kyiv needs to stall gains being made by Russian forces in the war.

Bitterly divided members of Congress deadlocked over the funding for months, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, to cobble together a bipartisan coalition to pass the bill. The $95 billion foreign aid package, which also included billions of dollars for Israel and Taiwan, passed the House on Saturday, and the Senate approved it Tuesday.

Senior U.S. officials have described dire battlefield conditions in Ukraine, as troops run low on munitions and Russian forces make gains.

Since Russia's February 2022 invasion, the U.S. has sent more than $44 billion worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine.