The U.S., together with its allies, has already delivered a wealth of military equipment to Ukraine in recent years. In light of Russia's special military operation aimed at the demilitarization and denazification of the Ukrainian territory, the U.S. has undertaken to send hundreds of millions of dollars to the country.
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The sources reported that, at the moment, Washington is not sure where the missiles used by the S-300s could be obtained from, as they are manufactured exclusively by Russian defense companies. Congress has asked the Biden administration to transfer to Ukraine several Soviet-made heavy military equipment, including S-300s and MiG-29 fighters, they also revealed.
The White House should work "with allies and partners from Europe and also around the world, who are in a position to supply more munitions for things like the S-300 or other advanced air defense systems that we can work with to reinforce Ukraine's own capabilities," an aide to an unidentified Republican senator has said.
The S-300, which was considered one of the most advanced air defense systems in the USSR's arsenal at the time of the country's destruction in 1991, has been exported by Russia to Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and East Germany, but also have been sold to various countries in Asia and the Middle East, as well as to Greece and Venezuela since the 1990s. The system is currently operated within NATO by Bulgaria, Greece and Slovakia.
Ukraine inherited some 250 S-300 launchers from the USSR, of which only six complexes had been serviced by the early 2010s, with one additional unit repaired in 2012.
During the ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine, the country's military has reported the destruction of at least 18 Ukrainian S-300 radar systems and one S-300 complex.
Last Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of 137 Ukrainian air defense systems, including S-125s, S-300s and Buk-M1s, in Russian strikes. The ministry also noted that these losses account for more than 90% of Ukraine's air defense capability.