KYIV, May 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. government should respond positively to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's request for more air defence missiles to shield Ukraine's capital from a threatened escalation in Russian bombardment, two U.S. congressmen said on Thursday.
Zelenskiy wrote to U.S. President Donald Trump and the members of the U.S. Congress this week to request additional Patriot systems and interceptors - the only effective shield against Russia's ballistic missiles in Ukraine's arsenal.
On Monday, Russia warned foreigners and diplomats to leave Kyiv and said it would launch "systematic strikes" on targets in the Ukrainian capital. In its latest massive strike on Sunday, Russia used 30 ballistic missiles against Ukraine and only 11 of them were shot down, according to Ukraine's air force.
After meeting with Zelenskiy in Kyiv, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said the United States had complied several times in the past with Kyiv's requests for additional weapons.
"My hope and expectation is that America will respond positively to this request," said Blumenthal, speaking alongside U.S. Representative Jim Himes, a fellow Democrat.
Both congressmen, Blumenthal said, would lobby on their return to Washington for additional air defence interceptors for Ukraine and tougher sanctions on Russia: "What we will regard as our mission, as we go back, is to make sure that Ukraine has the means to do the job."
Since Trump took office, Ukraine has been purchasing Patriot missiles through NATO's Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, financed by its European allies.
In his letter, Zelenskiy thanked the United States for its support but said the pace of interceptor missile deliveries under PURL was no longer keeping pace with the scale of the threat in Ukraine.
Himes, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee, said that conversations in Washington around military support to Ukraine had been complicated by the U.S. war on Iran, which was draining valuable resources.
"That conflict needs to be brought to a close yesterday for many reasons, including the fact that the material that is being used in the Persian Gulf right now needs to be used for our defense and needs to be provided to Ukraine," Himes said.
(Reporting by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Nia Williams)
