Russia says Ukraine’s ‘fairly old’ US Patriot missiles are out of the way

WASHINGTON: Russia announced during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington that Ukraine’s acquisition of Patriot missiles from the United States would not help resolve the conflict and prevent Russia from achieving its goals. said no.

The Patriot’s air defense system is widely regarded as advanced, but President Vladimir Putin dismissed it as “pretty old” and told reporters that Moscow would find a way to counter it. At the same time, Russia said it wanted the war in Ukraine to end and that this would entail a diplomatic solution.

“Our goal is not to turn the flywheel of a military conflict, on the contrary, to end this war,” Putin said.

“We will work hard to finish this. Of course, the sooner the better.”

These comments immediately sparked US skepticism. White House Press Secretary John Kirby said Putin “has shown no willingness to negotiate” to end the war.

Kirby told reporters, “Everything he[Putin]is doing on the ground and in the air represents a man who wants to continue beating the people of Ukraine[and]want to escalate the war. There are,” he said.

Russia has repeatedly said it is open to negotiations, but Ukraine and its allies are closing in on time after a series of Russian battlefield defeats and withdrawals shook the momentum of the 10-month war in Ukraine’s favour. I suspect it’s a ruse to make money.

Zelensky returned from his first wartime foreign visit, aided by the support shown by President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

“We came back from Washington with good results,” Zelensky said in Telegram. “We have something that really helps.”

The Biden administration announced an additional $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including the Patriot system, when Zelensky began his visit.

But the visit leaves many questions unanswered, including how U.S. military aid may develop, whether U.S. congressional support will persist, and how the war will end. is.

U.S. officials say a single Patriot battery won’t change the course of the war.

Putin has previously said that sanctions against Russia would not change his position on Ukraine, and that Western arms supplies would only prolong the conflict.

Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said on state television on Friday that Russia will reduce oil production by 5% to 7% in early 2023 to meet price ceilings on crude oil and petroleum products and stop sales to countries that support them. He said it could be reduced.