Medvedev called the Patriot air defense system a legitimate target for the Russian Federation when delived to Kyiv

Deputy head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that if the West supplies the Kyiv regime with Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems, then the weapon will be a legitimate military target for the Russian Federation.

"If, as [NATO Secretary General Jens] Stoltenberg hinted, NATO supplies Kyiv fanatics with Patriot complexes along with NATO personnel, they will immediately become a legitimate target of our armed forces," he said in his Telegram channel, expressing the hope that the North Atlantic Alliance understand it.

 Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the member countries of the alliance are negotiating the possibility of sending Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. Poland refused to study this issue, noting that it uses complexes for the air defense of its country.

The fact that Western weapons sent to Ukraine is a legitimate target for the Russian military has been repeatedly warned by the Russian Foreign Ministry. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that supplying Ukrainian nationalists with weapons from the West would only prolong the conflict in Ukraine.

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•  The United States does not have any plans at this time to provide Patriot surface-to-air missile systems to Ukraine, Defense Department spokesperson Pat Ryder said on Tuesday.

"Air defense continues to be a top priority for the Defense Department and for the international community when it comes to supporting Ukraine.

In terms of any type of Patriot battery from the US, right now, we have no plans to provide Patriot batteries to Ukraine, but again, we'll continue to have those discussions," Ryder said during a press briefing.

Advanced systems such as the Patriot missile system require significant maintenance and training, which is accounted for when determining what aid to provide Ukraine, Ryder said.