Ukraine welcomes arms offers, no word on Patriot missiles

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and LORNE COOK

BUCHAREST (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is condemning Russia’s weekslong assault on Ukraine’s power grid and other infrastructure as an attempt to “freeze and starve” its people. His remarks in Romania Wednesday came as Ukraine’s foreign minister renewed a call for Patriot missiles. Dmytro Kuleba says NATO countries gave him a “number of new commitments” of other materiel to arm his nation. But he wouldn’t say whether there’s been any movement on the badly wanted Patriot missile batteries. Equipping Ukraine with arms and stocks to rebuild its battered electricity grid to survive winter has been a top issue as NATO foreign ministers meet in Bucharest.