Ukraine: Russian armoured vehicles targeted in Kyiv suburb
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Ms Harris headed to Warsaw today for a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda to discuss measures to protect Ukraine and its people. The US Vice President said: “We will do everything together, in partnership, in solidarity, to support what is necessary at this very moment in terms of the humanitarian and security needs of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.” As part of the partnership, Ms Harris announced that the US has delivered the Patriot missile systems to help “defend every inch of NATO territory”.
The US has also deployed 4,700 troops to its Polish allies.
Ms Harris added: “The United States takes seriously that an attack against one is an attack against all. We are here today to reinstate that commitment.”
The Patriot missile system is able to detect, target and then hit an incoming missile that could be as far as 10 to 20 feet (three to six meters) long, usually flying at around three to five times the speed of sound.
The weapons can be described as guided missiles that use a ground-based radar to find, identify and track the targets.
The targets could be 50 miles (80.5 kilometres) when first picked up by the radar, impossible to spot with the human eye.
Upgraded systems are also capable of destroying incoming aircraft and cruise missiles.
The US used these weapons in both the Iraqi war and the 1991 Gulf war.
Ms Harris said she made the announcement of the weapon system’s deployment “as a reminder and as a demonstration of our commitment to the security of our allies and our commitment in particular to Poland at this moment in time.”
This comes after UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK is considering sending anti-air missiles to Ukraine.
He told the House of Commons: “To date, the international community has donated over 900 Man-Portable Air Defence missiles and thousands of anti-tank guided weapons of varying types, as well as various small arms.
“But the capability needs strengthening, so in response to Ukrainian requests, the Government has taken the decision to explore the donation of Starstreak high-velocity man-portable anti-air missiles.
“We believe that this system will remain within the definition of defensive weapons and will allow the Ukrainian forces to better defend their skies.”
But this comes after reports emerged that Russia has been using horrifying thermabolic weapons which suck in oxygen to create a high-temperature explosion, creating a blast that damages infrastructure, bursts internal organs and can even vaporise human bodies.
While NATO troops have not been sent directly into Ukraine to avoid the crisis from escalating into world war three, armed forces have been deployed to surrounding territories in eastern Europe.
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Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary-General, said at a virtual summit of 30 leaders last month: “No one should be fooled by the Russian government’s barrage of lies.
“We are now making significant additional defensive deployments of forces to the eastern part of the alliance.”
James Heappey, a UK defence minister, has said that 1,000 UK troops are on standby to provide additional support to countries neighbouring Ukraine with refugee responses.
So far, over 2 million Ukrainians have fled the country.
Mr Heapy said: “The 1,000 troops that are on standby are there to support Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Poland with the expected humanitarian challenges that they will face as people make their way out of Ukraine.”
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