Kyiv says Patriot missiles have arrived in Ukraine as U.S. announces new aid package

A Patriot missile is fired
(Image credit: Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

Two U.S.-made Patriot missile defense systems have arrived in Ukraine from the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced Wednesday. "Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure," he tweeted. Ukrainian air defense teams have been trained to use the advanced surface-to-air systems, which take up to 90 people to operate and maintain. "Our partners have kept their word," added Reznikov, who had been pressing the U.S. for Patriot missiles since August 2021, five months before Russian launched its full-scale invasion.

The Patriot missiles will help Ukraine protect itself from Russian attack aircraft, cruise missiles, and shorter-range ballistic missiles, The Associated Press reports, though "experts have cautioned that the system's effectiveness is limited and that it may not significantly change the shape of the war."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.