[Central News Agency] Russia stepped up its military operations yesterday, launching more than 80 missiles into Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today asked the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) to urgently provide anti-aircraft weapons.

The White House said the U.S. would deliver Ukraine's "National Advanced Air Defense System" (NASAMS) as soon as possible.

NASAMS is a short- and medium-range air defense system jointly developed by Raytheon of the United States and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace of Norway. It can intercept enemy aircraft, cruise missiles and other targets with a range of 30 to 50 kilometers.

The United States has used NASAMS to help defend the capital and the White House since 2005.

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The White House also issued a statement after Russia fired missiles against Ukraine's capital Kyiv and other cities, saying U.S. President Joe Biden yesterday pledged to provide Ukraine with advanced air defense systems.

The White House said in a statement that Biden spoke with Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday and "committed to continuing to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to defend itself, including advanced air defenses."

Meanwhile, a German Defense Ministry source confirmed a Der Spiegel report that Ukraine today received the first of four new IRIS-T air defense systems promised by Germany, which are more advanced than originally planned. Paintings shipped in advance.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, in early June: "The government has recently decided that we will ship the latest IRIS-T air defense systems (to Ukraine) that Germany has."

He said the system would "give Ukraine the ability to defend an entire major city from Russian airstrikes" and that Germany would also deliver a tracking radar system to detect enemy rocket artillery.

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