The donation from a NATO member comes after Ukraine's repeated calls for its allies to strengthen their air defenses.
NATO member Romania has announced it will send a Patriot missile system to Ukraine, which has repeatedly called on its allies to increase their air defense support as Russia attacks its energy infrastructure.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that Russia had destroyed half of Ukraine's electricity generating capacity and needed seven Patriot missile systems and other air defenses to protect Ukraine's urban centers.
“Considering the significant deterioration of the security situation in Ukraine, … the council members decided to donate a Patriot system to Ukraine in close coordination with allies,” Romania's Supreme Council of National Defense said in a statement Thursday.
Thanking Romania, Zelenskyy posted on X: “This crucial contribution will strengthen our air shield and help us better protect our people and critical infrastructure from Russian air terrorism.”
I thank Romania and the President @KlausIohannis for making the decision to provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defense system.
This crucial contribution will strengthen our air shield and help us better protect our people and our critical infrastructure from Russia…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 20, 2024
Seeking to limit each other's ability to fight a war now in its third year, Russia resumed its airstrikes on Ukraine's power grid, and Kiev's forces again targeted Russian oil facilities with cross-border drone strikes, officials said. Thursday.
Russia fired nine missiles and launched 27 Shahed drones at energy facilities and critical infrastructure in central and eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said. Air defenses intercepted all the drones and five cruise missiles, he added.
The attack hit power structures in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, kyiv and Vinnytsia, causing “significant damage,” according to national power company Ukrenergo. Seven workers were injured, he added.
Ukrenergo announced extended blackouts across the country despite receiving electricity imports and help with emergency supplies from European countries.
Private energy company DTEK said one of its power plants was hit in the overnight attack, but did not specify its location.
Three company employees were injured and plant equipment was severely damaged, DTEK reported on social media.
Attacks on Russia
Meanwhile, in Russia, authorities in two regions reported fires at oil storage tanks following drone attacks, two days after a Ukrainian attack caused a large fire at another refinery.
The nighttime drone strikes were carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine, known by its acronym SBU, a Kiev security official told the Associated Press news agency.
The attacks caused fires at the facilities, which processed and stored crude oil and its derivatives used to supply the Russian military, the official said.
The head of Russia's Adygea region, Murat Kumpilov, said a Ukrainian drone strike caused a fire at an oil depot in the city of Enem that was later extinguished.
The governor of the Tambov region, Maxim Yegorov, said an oil tanker was set on fire at an oil depot there.
Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said a drone hit a private house in the city of Slavyansk, killing a woman.
Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses shot down 15 Ukrainian drones in three regions, but did not mention any damage.
The ministry said it has shot down more than 26,000 Ukrainian drones since the start of the war.
