Germany to not send Patriots to Ukraine: government explains why
Photo: Patriot air defense system (X.com / Oleksii Reznikov)
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Berlin has no capacity to transfer additional Patriot systems to Ukraine from its own reserves, according to Deutsche Welle.
Commenting on Kyiv’s requests to increase supplies of air defense ammunition, Pistorius stressed that Germany had already made a "disproportionately large contribution" by transferring more than a third of its own Patriot arsenal to Ukraine.
He said further deliveries are currently impossible, as the Bundeswehr is waiting for replacement systems while also needing to retain capabilities for personnel training and technical maintenance.
At the same time, Pistorius acknowledged that the number of IRIS-T air defense systems delivered to Ukraine is also insufficient.
He noted that Germany remains the only country able to supply these systems to Kyiv and is doing so "in a sense on a permanent basis." However, given the sharp increase in the intensity of Russian attacks, previous deliveries are still not enough.
Addressing Ukraine’s Western partners, the German defense minister urged allies to conduct a joint inventory of their own weapons stockpiles, especially in countries that may still have available reserves.
Pistorius separately sharply criticized Russia for systematic strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, calling such actions particularly cynical.
He said that against the backdrop of talks in Abu Dhabi on a possible ceasefire, Russia was continuing with "relentless cruelty and brutality" to attack civilian energy facilities during a harsh winter, carrying out terror against the Ukrainian population and grossly violating international law.
Patriot from US
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump agreed on the supply of Patriot missiles to Ukraine during a meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 22.
The US president said the talks were very successful and stressed that all sides were interested in ending the war.
After returning from Davos, Zelenskyy said he had brought back agreements on a new package of critically needed air defense systems for Ukraine, without disclosing details.
Missiles for Patriot systems are currently critically important for Ukraine amid intensified Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
