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President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday after a barrage of Russian missiles targeted Ukrainian cities, condemning the attacks and pledging continued US security assistance “including advanced air defense systems “.
During the call, a White House statement said, Biden “expressed his condemnation of Russia’s missile attacks on Ukraine, including in Kyiv, and conveyed his condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured in these attacks without sense. President Biden pledged to continue providing Ukraine with the support it needs to defend itself, including advanced air defense systems.”
The White House did not specify which air defense systems Biden discussed with Zelensky, but the United States previously committed to providing Ukraine with advanced domestic surface-to-air missile systems. NASAMS would be capable of engaging Russian cruise missiles.
Biden, the statement said, “also underscored his ongoing commitment to allies and partners to continue to impose costs on Russia, hold Russia accountable for its war crimes and atrocities, and provide Ukraine with security, economic and humanitarian assistance “.
Asked whether the attacks of the past 24 hours would change the calculus of what the US would consider offering to Ukraine, a senior administration official said they had no announcement to make on that, but that the US will continue to help provide Ukraine with long-range air defense systems, as it has done in the past.
And a second senior administration official provided the following summary of air defense assistance provided to Ukraine from the US: “We have transferred more than 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, as well as air surveillance and multi-mission radars. We allow our allies to transfer their own air defense systems to Ukraine, including Slovakia’s transfer of a critical S-300 system in April.And in August, President Biden announced a new package of assistance to Ukraine which included orders for 8 new NASAMS – Advanced National Surface-to-Air Missile Systems. We will continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to defend itself.”
As of a Defense Department briefing in late September, the US had yet to deliver NASAMS to Ukraine. Then Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said two systems were expected to be delivered in the next two months, with the remaining six to arrive at an undetermined date.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday to reiterate US support after the deadly attacks. Biden is expected to join an emergency video conference with G7 leaders on Tuesday during which Zelensky is expected to address the group.
Russia launched a total of 84 cruise missiles at targets across Ukraine on Monday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook post.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strikes were a response to what he called acts of “terrorism” by Kyiv. Specifically, he referred to Saturday’s explosion at the Kerch bridge linking Russia and Crimea, which he blamed on Ukraine’s “special services,” and a list of other alleged “crimes.”
Kuleba called the claims “nonsense,” tweeting: “Putin is desperate because of battlefield defeats and is using missile terror to try to turn the tide of war in his favor.” . And Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency claimed in a statement on Monday that Moscow had been planning a “massive” missile attack on Ukraine since early last week.
Dmitri Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, also recently said he believes Moscow should aim for the “complete dismantling” of Zelensky’s “regime.”
In a post on Telegram, Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, said: “The Ukrainian state in its current configuration … will pose a constant, direct and clear threat to Russia . Therefore, in addition to protecting our people and protecting the borders of the country, the goal of our future actions, in my opinion, should be the complete dismantling of the political regime of Ukraine.”
John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said Monday that additional support packages for Ukraine will likely be announced “in the very near future.”
“It’s clear he’s feeling the pressure both at home and abroad, and how he reacts to that only he can say,” Kirby told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on “Erin Burnett OutFront.”
Kirby added, “He understands that he doesn’t do well on the battlefield.”
Asked if he thinks these attacks make it more likely that Putin would resort to nuclear weapons, Kirby said the US has seen nothing new.
“We continue to monitor their nuclear capabilities, Kate, as best we can. And what I can tell you today is that we see no indication that Mr. Putin has made a decision to use weapons of mass destruction or even weapons nuclear weapons. And we haven’t seen anything, Kate, that gives us reason to change our own deterrent posture,” Kirby said.
The mention of the air defense system comes amid a series of escalations in the war.
Putin gave a speech last month in which he announced the partial mobilization of some 300,000 reservists after successful Ukrainian counter-attacks, raising the specter of nuclear weapons if he deemed Russia’s “territorial integrity” to be at risk. And the Russian president recently announced the annexation of four regions of Ukraine in defiance of international law.
Last week, Biden issued a stark warning about the dangers of Putin’s nuclear threats, invoking the prospect of “Armageddon.” But several US officials have said the comment was not based on any new information about Putin’s intentions or changes in Russia’s nuclear posture.
This story was updated Monday with additional information.