Mark R. Wheeler

Overall, 25 people were killed in this massive Russian strike on Ukraine. One hundred people were injured. It was a combined attack, involving many ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as “shaheds.” This is the kind of “gift” Putin gave himself for his birthday. Ukrainian warriors shot down 44 missiles – both cruise and ballistic. Not all of those launched by Russia, and ballistic missiles are especially difficult to deal with. We suppressed 117 “shaheds” – most of those launched, but unfortunately, not all of them either. Additional packages of air defense missiles are needed, as are additional measures to support Ukraine. And there will be appropriate packages. The threat is there every day, and every day, our air defense batteries need to have missiles ready. We strongly count on prompt deliveries from our partners.