Ukraine requests "Patriot", Rubio: The U.S. does not have it, but NATO allies do.
Rubio said that the U.S. is closely cooperating with NATO allies who possess a certain number of "Patriot" air defense systems to encourage them to transfer these systems to Ukraine.
In response to Senator Shaheen's question at the U.S. Senate hearing, Rubio emphasized that, except for a one-week suspension, the U.S. has not stopped delivering previously approved aid to Ukraine. However, he pointed out that the new aid package is a different matter.
"The White House will have to decide whether to request additional funding from Congress. But all projects that have been approved and funded by Congress are ongoing," Rubio said, adding that it is impossible to meet all of Ukraine's requests. He emphasized that Ukraine explicitly requested the "Patriot" system. "Frankly, we don't have it. But we are closely cooperating with NATO allies, some of whom indeed have some 'Patriot' systems that they can provide or transfer to Ukraine to defend the airspace over Kyiv and other regions. We have been encouraging this. As you might imagine, these countries are also reluctant to give up their own 'Patriot' systems," Rubio said (source: Ukrainska Pravda).
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832826330394635/
Disclaimer: This article only represents the views of the author.