The United States insists that allies hastily build a patchwork air defense network for Ukraine using NATO-compatible equipment - cutting-edge and older - to protect strategic targets, AFP reported.

What the Ukrainian leadership called most needed yesterday is air defense equipment, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said after a meeting of 50 allies who are coordinating their military support for Kyiv.

However, in order to protect Ukraine from various threats from Russia, an air defense system consisting of multiple layers will be necessary, Gen. Mark Milley said.

These three tiers will protect major cities and key infrastructure in Ukraine from Russian ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones.

Washington has promised to provide Ukraine with a short- and medium-range NASAMS air defense system, the first two of which will arrive shortly. It has also ordered six more from manufacturer Raytheon, but these deliveries could take two to three years.

Germany has delivered the first of the latest generation Iris-T air defense systems, but Kiev will have to wait until next year for three more. The medium-range, high-altitude Iris-T system is designed to protect a small city.

To speed up the process, the United States has urged its allies to provide their existing anti-aircraft equipment, even if it is old and if it meets NATO standards.

Spain was the first to respond positively to this call: It will send Ukraine four Hawk medium-range surface-to-air missile systems, which first entered service during the Cold War but have been upgraded over the years.

They are no longer used by the U.S. military, which has replaced them with the more modern Patriot.

President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would provide "radars, systems and missiles to protect (Ukrainians) against these attacks. He did not specify the type of air defense system, but a U.S. military spokesman mentioned the SAMP/T high-altitude system, known as the Mamba, which is in service in France, Italy and Singapore and is a European competitor to the Patriot.

The Franco-Italian-designed system is now part of NATO's air defense system.

Britain has announced that it is sending AMRAAM missiles, which are launched by the U.S.-supplied NASAMS.

According to a U.S. military spokesman, Washington is also interested in a variant of the Spada 2000 system, which, like the Mamba, is produced by the European company MBDA.

This is a modernized version of the medium-altitude and long-range system, which has been in service since the 1980s in Italy.

Washington is also considering providing Ukraine with Patriot missile batteries to defend against ballistic missiles. At the same time, Washington is lobbying other countries that have them to provide them to Kiev and is also trying to convince Israel to provide parts of its Iron Dome system.

Once the systems are provided, Ukrainian forces will have to be trained in their use, and they have to make sure they can be linked to command and control systems and communication systems, and make sure they have radars so they can capture targets, he said.