Patriot systems to be deployed in Ukraine within six months - Kuleba

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine says Patriot air defense systems are expected to be fielded in Ukraine in around six months after all necessary preparations are completed.

That’s according to the minister’s interview with AP, Ukrinform reports.

Kuleba also said he was “absolutely satisfied” with the results of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the U.S. last week.

He revealed that the U.S. government had made a special plan to get the Patriot missile battery ready to be operational in the country in less than six months.

Usually, the training takes up to a year.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, as part of the latest package of U.S.defense aid to Ukraine, worth $1.85 billion, Washington pledged to provide Ukraine with a battery of the much-sought Patriot air defense systems to help protect Ukrainian skies from incoming Russian missiles.

On December 21, President Volodymyr Zelensky made his first trip abroad after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. He visited the U.S., where he met with his American counterpart Joseph Biden and addressed both chambers of Congress.