The United States will work to send NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine as soon as possible, White House spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

John KirbyPhoto: – / Editorial Shutterstock / Profimedia

US President Joe Biden promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Monday that Washington would provide modern air systems after a devastating missile attack by Russia.

So far, the United States has approved the shipment of eight advanced NASAMS systems to Ukraine, with two expected to be delivered in the near future and six more in the longer term.

“We think we’re on the verge of delivering the first two in the near future,” Kirby said during a press briefing. “Of course, we are interested in the fastest possible delivery of NASAMS to Ukraine.”

“President Biden committed to continuing to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to defend itself, including advanced air defense systems,” the White House said in a statement regarding the discussion between Biden and Zelensky.

The United States has provided more than $16.8 billion in security assistance since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and imposed a wide range of economic sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in a television interview in September that Ukraine received missiles for the national advanced anti-aircraft missile system (NASAMS) from the United States.

NASAMS, a ground-to-air system developed by Raytheon Technologies (USA) and Kongsberg (Norway), is used in 12 countries around the world, including a number of member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance (USA, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Lithuania). and Hungary).

NASAMS includes the Sentinel radar, Fire Distribution Center command center, and AMRAAM, AMRAAM ER, and AIM 9X Sidewinder Block II interceptor missiles.

Russia bombed several cities in Ukraine during rush hour on Monday morning, including the capital Kyiv, killing civilians and disrupting power supplies, for which Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed responsibility, accusing Ukraine of a “terrorist attack” after the explosion at Kerch bridge. , which connects Crimea and Russia.