Israel handed over Patriot air defense, but it's not in Ukraine yet - Zelenskyy
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Israel has sent a Patriot air defense system to the United States for restoration. However, this system has not yet been delivered to Ukraine, says President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a conversation with journalists on June 13.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu and I agreed - before the Hamas attack on Israel - on certain systems. Not Patriot specifically. We agreed that Ukraine could purchase the Barak-8 system, which is a good alternative to American systems. We agreed to go down that path," the President said.
According to Zelenskyy, after the Hamas attack, Ukraine did not raise the issue of receiving air defense systems, as Israel was focused on internal matters. Later, the president said, Ukraine was informed it could potentially receive older Patriot models.
"There are working weapons, and there are donors who can help refurbish them. Some systems in Israel could function again if slightly restored. I won't mention numbers - I don't want to mislead - but we were counting on four. Someone mentioned a different number," he added.
Zelenskyy stated that one Patriot system was sent by Israel to the US for refurbishment. However, this system has not yet reached Ukrainian territory.
"We are grateful if this is indeed meant for us. I say 'if' because we don't have it yet. If we had it, I would say yes - Israel gave it to us - and I wouldn’t have to go through this long chain of who gave what and why. The system was sent to the US for restoration. From America, it has not yet arrived in Ukraine," the President explained.
Patriot from Israel
Recently, Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky said that Israel had transferred Patriot systems.
"These are Israeli systems that were in service with Israel in the early 1990s. We agreed to transfer them to Ukraine," he said.
However, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs later denied this claim, stating that Israel had not delivered Patriot systems to Ukraine.
Patriot for Ukraine
Ukraine does have Patriot air defense systems provided by its partners, including Germany. The first combat use of this system in Ukraine occurred in the spring of 2023.
Patriot systems are crucial for Ukraine as they can intercept Russian ballistic missiles.
Amid heavy Russian missile attacks, Ukraine has repeatedly called on its partners to strengthen its air defenses and provide more Patriot systems. As early as last summer, President Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine needs 25 Patriots to fully secure its airspace.
He also noted that Ukraine is ready to buy these systems from the US or obtain a license to produce the missiles, though those discussions are still ongoing.
