Ukraine will receive new air defense systems as quickly as they can be delivered — US Defense Secretary

The Ukraine contact group meeting, held today as part of a two-day meeting of defense ministers of NATO countries, is ready to supply air defense systems to Ukraine as quickly as the physical capabilities for their delivery allow.

US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin stated this today in Brussels during a press conference following the results of the Contact Group meeting, Ukrinform reports.

"These systems will be delivered to Ukraine as quickly as we can physically deliver them there. That is among the top priorities and what we will be focused on. We intend to provide the systems that we have and that are available, that countries such as Germany have. We will also try to provide additional weapons for the existing systems that the Ukrainian forces are already using," said the head of the US military department.

He noted that all the participants of today's meeting – 50 countries – understand the concern of Ukrainians for the safety of their homes and families.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, General Mark Milley, noted that the Contact Group members' main focus is to help Ukraine develop an integrated air defense system.

"What Ukraine is asking for, and what we can provide, is an integrated air defense system. It does not control the entire airspace of Ukraine, but it is designed to control the priority objects that Ukraine wants to protect. We are talking about short-range and low-altitude systems, medium-range and medium-altitude, and long-range high-altitude systems. This is a mixture of all such systems, which will allow to prohibit entry into the airspace of russian aircraft and drones and provide defense against russian missiles," the general said.

He noted that Ukraine is already using existing systems very effectively, including SA-6 (KUB – ed.), S-300, and other similar systems. They allowed the Ukrainian side to effectively reduce russian air superiority and, as a result, complicated the combined maneuvering of russian troops.

According to the general, the countries participating in the conference can help Ukraine create an integrated air defense system, including using older air defense systems. In particular, Ukraine currently uses rather old medium-range air defense systems, but they are quite effective. There are other systems available in other countries, such as Patriot. Israel and Germany, in particular, also have effective air defense systems.

"The task is to combine these capabilities, apply them, and provide the necessary training because all these systems are different. We need to make sure that they can be combined, in a single control and communication system, to provide them with the necessary radars to interact with each other and track targets together. This is quite a challenging task from a technical point of view, but it is achievable," Milley emphasized.

As already reported, the sixth meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group under the auspices of the United States ("Ramstein") was held in Brussels today and was attended by politicians and military leaders of 50 countries, including NATO allies and partner countries, who discussed ways of further military support for Ukraine in its efforts to defend against a russian war of aggression, in full compliance with the right to self-defense provided for in the UN Charter.