The acquisition and effective deployment of this air defense system will significantly enhance Ukraine’s ability to protect its citizens and critical national infrastructure….reports Asian Lite News
In a move to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities against potential Russian threats, the United States has authorized the sale of a NASAMS air defense system and associated equipment worth $285 million to Kyiv.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) released a statement on May 24 affirming Ukraine’s pressing need to bolster its defenses against missile strikes and aerial threats originating from Russia. The acquisition and effective deployment of this air defense system will significantly enhance Ukraine’s ability to protect its citizens and critical national infrastructure.
The DSCA emphasized that the proposed sale “will support the foreign policy goals” and national security objectives of the U.S. by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe. The sale will not necessitate the assignment of additional American government personnel or contractors to Ukraine, according to the official statement.
The principal contractor will be Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Tucson, AZ.
The State Department has granted approval for the sale, and the DSCA has now formally notified Congress, which must still provide its consent for the transaction to proceed.
While numerous countries, including the U.S., have previously provided substantial military aid to Ukraine in its efforts against Russian aggression, this particular transaction marks a notable sale rather than a donation.
Ukraine’s air defense systems have played a pivotal role in safeguarding the nation from strikes and thwarting Moscow’s attempts to gain control of the skies.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian armed forces’ commander in chief, General Valery Zaluzhny, who has not been seen publicly for some time now, was seriously wounded some weeks ago in a Russian strike near Kherson, and is unlikely to return to service, media reports said on Wednesday.
Zaluzhny suffered a head trauma and numerous shrapnel wounds in early May, in a missile attack on a Ukrainian command post not far from the village of Posad-Pokrovskoe, RT quoted RIA Novosti as reporting.
The Russian agency, quoting a source, said that the general had undergone a craniotomy at a military hospital in Kiev after the strike, and doctors say that the 49-year-old is going to live but won’t be able to execute his duties as commander anymore.
Speculations about Zaluzhny’s whereabouts emerged after he refrained from participating in a high-profile NATO meeting on May 10.
The Chairman of the bloc’s military committee, Rob Bauer, said that Kiev told Brussels that the Ukrainian commander couldn’t attend in person nor via a video-link due to a “complex operational situation” on the ground in the conflict with Moscow.
Zaluzhny hasn’t been seen in public since then, even though footage that has emerged online in recent days that suggested he was fine, turned out to have been made before his disappearance.
However, on Saturday, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Anna Malyar claimed Zaluzhny was in good health and remained in charge, and that rumours about him were being spread by Russia in an attempt to demoralise the Ukrainian forces during the battle for the strategic Donbas city of Artyomovsk, which the Ukrainians call Bakhmut. Moscow announced the “full capture” of Artyomovsk on Saturday, but Kiev has thus far been reluctant to acknowledge the loss of its key stronghold.
