Austin on Patriots for Ukraine: Progress made in talks with donor countries

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that progress has been made in talks with other countries to supply Ukraine with advanced Patriot air defense systems, and this work will continue.

He said this at a press conference following a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Friday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"I think you know that I've spent a lot of time along with the rest of the leadership, our senior leadership, focusing on, doing everything that we can to get Ukraine as much air defense capabilities as possible," Austin said, when asked about providing Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense systems.

He noted that this includes different types of weapons, including interceptors and platforms from which they are launched.

"We have made progress, and we will continue to work this very, very hard," Austin said.

However, he did not name the countries that expressed their readiness to provide Ukraine with their Patriot systems, noting that they should speak for themselves. Austin said he expected positive results regarding the implementation of this decision, although, according to him, this is not an easy decision for each of these countries.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on June 13 that at least five countries had agreed to provide additional Patriot batteries and other air defense systems to Ukraine.