Biden promises new air defenses for Ukraine in forceful Nato speech

Critical step for president in convincing foreign leaders he remains up to task of leading 32-member military alliance

Joe Biden has announced that Nato countries will provide Ukraine with five new strategic air defense systems as leaders began a summit in Washington where the alliance was expected to declare Ukraine's path toward Nato to be irreversible".

The promise of weapons deliveries, including anti-air defenses sought after by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, came just a day after a deadly missile strike against a pediatric cancer hospital and other civilian targets in Ukraine that Biden called a horrific reminder of Russia's brutality".