WASHINGTON, April 8 (FT) - The US will reposition a Patriot missile defence system in Slovakia to provide air defence after the country sent an S-300 system to Ukraine, President Joe Biden said Friday.

Biden said the Patriot system will “enable this transfer and ensure the continued security of Slovakia”.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had asked Biden to help secure the S-300 system in repeated conversations, the White House said in a statement.

US service members would operate the system and it would arrive in Slovakia in coming days, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said.

“Their deployment length has not yet been fixed, as we continue to consult with the Slovakian government about more permanent air defence solutions,” Austin said.

Biden said the US will intensify efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine as Russia prepares for the next phase of the war.

“I have directed my administration to continue to spare no effort to identify and provide to the Ukrainian military the advanced weapons capabilities it needs to defend its country,” he said.