The U.S. has disputed media reports of Ukraine receiving a sophisticated air defense system after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was misquoted during the interview broadcast on Sunday.
What Happened: The Pentagon said the highly sought-after defense system had not been delivered to Ukraine yet, and it will not start delivering NASAMS for another two months or so.
“The U.S. has not delivered NASAMS to Ukraine at this stage. We expect the first two to be delivered within the next two months or so,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said.
The confusion arose after the English transcript of CBS News’ “Face the Nation” wrongly translated Zelenskyy’s comments, saying it was the first acknowledgment that Ukraine had received the air defense system from the U.S. However, it later corrected the transcript and acknowledged it as a translation error.
Kyiv has long sought NASAMS, and its shipment was approved by President Joe Biden‘s administration late last month.
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Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin is expected to announce the accession of Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine on Sept. 30. According to the U.K Ministry of Defence said, Putin is due to address both houses of the country’s Parliament on Friday and may use this opportunity to formally announce the accession of Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine into the Federation.
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