US urges countries with Patriots to transfer some to Ukraine for air defense

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that over the past two weeks he has been in contact with allied countries that have Patriot air defense systems, urging them to transfer them to Ukraine as soon as possible.

The head of the Pentagon said that air defense systems are a priority for Ukraine, as "Russia continues to launch missiles supplied by North Korea, as well as Iranian drones."

"There are countries that have Patriots, and so what we're doing is continuing to engage those countries. I have talked to the leaders of several countries... myself here in the last two weeks, encouraging them to give up more capability or provide more capability," Austin said.

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