Why is the Biden administration changing its mind on giving Patriot missiles to Ukraine?
US officials had said from the war’s early days that there were many reasons not to give Patriots to Ukraine. What changed?
Joshua Keating
December 15, 2022
In Ukraine, the realm of the possible is always expanding.
In the early days of the conflict, despite Ukraine’s pleas for more advanced air defense capabilities, U.S. officials were adamant that Patriot missiles, the U.S. military’s premier air defense system, were not on the table. “There’s no discussion about putting a Patriot battery in Ukraine,” a senior defense official told Defense One in March, citing the number of troops — usually around 90 — required to operate a single Patriot missile battery, and the extensive training they would require. Other objections included cost, the relative scarcity of available Patriots, and the fact that they’re not really designed for combating many of the weapons Russia is firing at Ukraine.
U.S. and NATO officials continued to cite these objections in the months that followed. As recently as the end of November, when asked about the possibility of sending Patriots to Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken replied, “We’ve helped the Ukrainians adapt by making sure that the weapon systems that we were giving them — and many others are giving them — are actually fit for the threat that they’re facing.” In other words, they still weren’t convinced Ukraine needed the Patriots.
Now, however, it appears the U.S. has decided that Patriots are fit for the threat. As CNN first reported Tuesday, the Biden administration is finalizing plans to send a Patriot battery to Ukraine. This would reportedly be a battery already deployed somewhere overseas. Countries bordering Ukraine, including Poland and Slovakia, have received Patriots since the war began. While Patriots, as a defensive system, are considered less of an escalation risk than other systems Ukraine is asking for like fighter aircraft and battle tanks, the Russian government has nonetheless described them as a provocation that could have unpredictable consequences and has said they will be a legitimate target for Russian strikes.
https://www.grid.news/story/global/2022/12/15/why-is-the-biden-administration-changing-its-mind-on-giving-patriot-missiles-to-ukraine/
