Ukraine has asked the US to place high-altitude missile defense systems in one of its eastern regions bordering Russia, TASS reported on Monday, citing a diplomatic source. The Kremlin has branded the potential move “destabilizing.”
Kiev has reportedly reached out to Washington, seeking to have “several batteries” of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interceptors deployed in the country’s eastern region of Kharkov, along with “corresponding radar equipment,” the source told the news agency.
“The AN/TPY-2 radar system, which is part of the THAAD complex, is capable of watching the aerospace situation over a significant part of Russian territory and can allow Kiev and its NATO allies to ‘peek’ deep into Russian territory for a distance of up to 1,000km,” the source explained.
Asked about the report on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that the potential deployment would further escalate the ongoing crisis around Ukraine.
“This would be yet another step towards destabilizing the situation,” Peskov told reporters.
The West has recently sent in around 1,000 tons of military equipment to prop up the Kiev regime amid fears of an allegedly looming Russian ‘invasion’. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba revealed the scale of the Western military aid on Monday, praising the “international political and economic support” Kiev has received.
“Over these weeks and months we have received more than $1.5 billion, and more than 1,000 tons of arms and armaments,” he said.
In January alone, the US delivered 79 tons of military hardware to Ukraine, including some 300 Javelin anti-tank systems. The UK sent in a sizable haul of weapons as well, delivering NLAW shoulder-fired anti-tank missiles, as well as deploying additional military instructors to teach Ukrainian forces how to use the systems.
While top Western officials and media have repeatedly claimed Moscow is seeking to attack its neighbor, no actual proof for such allegations has ever emerged. Moscow has consistently denied the accusations, maintaining it has zero plans to attack Ukraine, while adding that troop movements inside Russian territory were solely its own business.