The United States (US) will send another Patriot missile air defense system to Ukraine in the coming days as 90 countries have confirmed attendance to the upcoming first summit on peace in Ukraine.
Citing unnamed administration and military officials, The New York Times reported that the second Patriot system destined for Ukraine was currently deployed in Poland, defending a rotating American force slated to return to the US.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to an Agence France-Presse request for comment on the transfer.
News of the decision to provide the advanced system came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded on Tuesday for more air defenses at the start of an intense week of diplomatic meetings with Western partners.
Meanwhile, Switzerland received more than 90 confirmations from more than 160 countries and international organizations that it invited to the two-day peace summit at the Burgenstock resort complex.
Moscow said it had no interest in joining this weekend’s meeting and so was not invited by hosts Switzerland, while Ukraine wants to get some concrete outcomes from the meeting to take forward to a second summit.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky’s office, said the “bad experience” of previous negotiation formats involving Moscow, prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, meant that the end to the war needed to be built on a broad platform of support from the outset — and be rooted in international law.
He said Ukraine was “open to discuss all ideas” from attending countries if they could help to stop the war.
“We want our lands liberated, we want back our people, our children, and we want justice,” Yermak said.
Of Russia’s allies, China is staying away, while Brazil and South Africa also seem likely to be absent.
“We know how hard Russia is working against this summit,” trying to dissuade countries from attending, Yermak said.
“If Russia is so nervous, it’s confirmation that we are on the right way,” he said, still hoping that some wavering nations will eventually attend.
“We are ready to listen to the position of China,” said Yermak, hoping they would join the process sooner rather than later. WITH AFP