Ukraine receives first delivery of NASAMS air defence systems

Ukraine has received its first delivery of NASAMS air defence systems which will "significantly strengthen" its armed forces, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Monday.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said last month the United States was accelerating the shipment of the sophisticated NASAMS systems to Ukraine after a devastating missile barrage from Russia.

"Look who’s here! NASAMS and Aspide air defence systems arrived in Ukraine!," Reznikov wrote on the Telegram messaging app, thanking Norway, Spain and the United States for the shipments.

"These weapons will significantly strengthen the #UAarmy and will make our skies safer."

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked the leaders of the Group of Seven(G7) nations for more help with air defence last week following a wave of Russian air strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

"We must ensure full protection of the Ukrainian sky and will continue to do everything possible and impossible for this," Zelenskiy added in comments he made on Saturday.

The Royal United Services Institute, a London-based defence think tank, said in a report on Monday that Ukraine needed modern Western equipment and ammunition to defend itself from missile and drone attacks.

"The West must avoid complacency about the need to urgently bolster Ukrainian air-defence capacity," RUSI said.