Ukraine, the United States and Israel are negotiating the possibility of sending up to eight Patriot air defense systems to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
That’s according to The Financial Times, Ukrinform reports.
“While not finalized, the arrangement would likely involve the highly prized Patriot systems being sent first from Israel to the U.S., before being delivered to Ukraine,” the news story reads.
According to the media outlet, the outlines of the deal, which would mark a shift in Israel’s relations with Moscow, have been discussed between ministers and senior officials of the three countries, according to five people briefed on the negotiations.
Israel said in April that it would begin retiring its eight Patriot batteries, which date back more than 30 years, and replacing them with more advanced systems.
According to FT sources, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had held talks on the matter with his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken in recent weeks. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan had spoken on the issue at least twice with Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to the Ukrainian president.
Israel has not supplied any weapons to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
乌克兰通讯社援引《金融时报》报道，乌克兰、美国和以色列正在就向乌克兰武装部队提供多达八套爱国者防空系统的可能性进行谈判。
报道称，“虽然尚未最终确定，但该计划可能涉及将备受推崇的爱国者系统首先从以色列运往美国，然后再运往乌克兰。”
媒体根据五位了解谈判情况的人士报道，三国部长和高级官员已经讨论了该交易的大概情况，这将标志着以色列与莫斯科关系的转变。
以色列今年 4 月表示，该国将开始退役其 30 多年前的八套爱国者防空系统，并用更先进的系统取而代之。
据英国《金融时报》消息人士透露，乌克兰外长德米特罗·库列巴最近几周与美国总统安东尼·布林肯就此事进行了会谈。白宫国家安全顾问杰克·沙利文至少两次与乌克兰总统幕僚长安德烈·叶尔马克就此事进行了交谈。
自俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰以来，以色列没有向乌克兰提供任何武器。
