The Biden administration will send to Ukraine the most advanced air defense weapon in its arsenal, the Patriot missile system, officials said Wednesday, marking the most significant addition to American military support for the government in Kyiv in months. After months of refusing those entreaties, in recent weeks senior administration officials recommended to Biden that the air defense system be sent to Kyiv. The United States has about 90 troops assigned to a typical Patriot battery. The Patriot system will join a growing array of other modern air defense systems that Ukraine has received from Western nations since the Russian invasion. Earlier in the war, the United States also brokered a deal with Slovakia, a NATO ally, to send its only S-300 air defense system to Ukraine.
