In the shadow of the continued Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States announced that it is considering sending batteries of the “Hawk” air defense system to Ukraine, in order to help Kiev and intercept drones in the country’s skies, the “Reuters” news agency reported today (Tuesday). The “Hook” system is based on the upgrade of the “Stinger” shoulder-fired missiles, which the USA had previously sent to Ukraine.
In the meantime, Reuters also reported that the President of the United States, Joe Biden, intends to use the authority given to him to transfer the system to Ukraine, and to do so as soon as possible, and without emergency authorization from Congress. The air defense system has an interception capability at a range of 40 km and at an altitude of 20 km.
The report comes shortly after the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Oleksii Reznikovtalked to his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin. Reznikov said that the conversation was “fruitful” and that Ukraine “appreciates the clear position of the US regarding Russian provocations, and the zero patience for Putin’s blackmail. We also talked about the US security aid package for Ukraine.”
As I recall, the Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu held a telephone conversation with the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, regarding a possible deterioration of the war in Ukraine, after having earlier held a round of talks with some of his colleagues in the world, including Sébastien Le Corny, the French Minister of Defense, as well as the British Minister of Defense Wallace and the Turkish Minister, and warned against What he calls a “dirty bomb” in the hands of the Ukrainians.
Shoigu pointed out that Kyiv could allegedly create provocations through the use of the same bomb – a hint of a weapon of mass destruction, according to him. Shoigu also added that this is a “situation that has the ability to flare up and get out of control.”