Biden’s decision opens door to Ukraine for other Patriots – Kuleba

“Ukraine will soon receive the first battery of these most advanced systems, and this is a completely new level of sky protection. Even more importantly, this decision by President Biden opens the door for other Patriots,” Kuleba said.

He noted that the path to this decision began even before the full-scale war started, and recalled that in April 2021, the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak, was the first to publicly call on the United States to provide this system to Ukraine.

“I remember them being skeptical about this call at the time, but we believed and worked at all levels. I remember how in November-December 2021 I raised this issue at the negotiations. In the very first days of the war, President Zelensky, Yermak, myself, and [Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii] Reznikov again convinced U.S. partners: we need Patriots. Already at the end of November, we intensified this conversation again. In particular, when I was at the NATO ministerial meeting, I frankly said that I came for transformers and Patriots,” Kuleba said.

According to him, the final chord was a phone call between the Ukrainian and U.S. leaders in December.

“Patriots in Ukraine means saved lives and civilian infrastructure. This is another strategic defeat for Russia, which will lose its leverage for intimidation and terror. This means bringing our victory closer. Moreover, apart from the Patriots, there were many other important topics raised at the negotiations,” Kuleba said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on December 21 that Patriot systems were included in a new $1.85 billion military aid package to Ukraine.

Photo: Ukrainian Foreign Ministry