Polish Foreign Minister played key role in restoring Patriot supplies to Ukraine - Media
Photo: Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski directly influenced the resumption of Patriot air defense system deliveries to Ukraine. It only took a single phone call, The Telegraph reports.
On the morning of July 4, Sikorski called General Keith Kellogg, the US Special Envoy for Ukraine, to report that during a nighttime attack on Kyiv, Russian forces had damaged the Polish consulate.
Sikorski urged Kellogg to persuade US President Donald Trump to resume military aid to Ukraine. The minister added that Russian President Vladimir Putin showed complete disregard for America’s peace efforts.
"Putin is mocking your peace efforts. Please restore supplies of anti-aircraft ammunition to Ukraine," he said.
According to the outlet, Kellogg was shocked by the news of the consulate being hit — an act that could be considered a casus belli (a reason for war), potentially escalating the conflict. Almost immediately after Sikorski’s call, Kellogg phoned Trump.
The general briefed the President that Russia had launched 11 missiles and 539 drones at Kyiv. He emphasized the attack happened just hours after Trump’s conversation with Putin.
Disappointed by Putin’s behavior, Trump, upon hearing the news about the attack on Kyiv and the strike on the Polish consulate, acted swiftly: he ordered the Pentagon to urgently resume the supply of air defense and anti-missile systems to Ukraine.
Kellogg then called US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who had previously halted the aid independently, and relayed the President’s order. Hegseth initially refused to believe it, prompting Kellogg to tell the former TV host to call Trump directly for confirmation.
It took the Pentagon four days to restart shipments of PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot air defense systems. Forty missiles, previously ordered by President Joe Biden’s administration, were stored in Poland. Ten of them were urgently transferred to Ukraine.
Just nine days later, on July 13, Trump, following talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, made a series of announcements.
He announced plans to sell $10 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine and to impose devastating sanctions on Russia and buyers of Russian oil.
The first domino in this chain of events was Radosław Sikorski.
The Polish Foreign Minister may have made one of the defining interventions of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the outlet stated.
Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine
On July 13, US President Donald Trump announced the transfer of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, funded by NATO allies. Initially, he stated that Kyiv would receive 17 systems. However, it was later clarified that the US President was referring to 17 launchers.
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans declared that his country is ready to make a significant contribution to the transfer of American systems to Ukraine. Germany and Norway also joined the effort to provide these systems.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed that Germany is ready to supply two Patriot systems, but warned that this would only be possible if they are promptly replaced.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz backed Pistorius’s statement, saying that Germany and Norway would make an important contribution to strengthening Ukraine’s air defense. However, on July 23, German officials announced that the Patriot systems mentioned by US President Donald Trump would not arrive in Ukraine before the spring of 2026.
Still, according to media reports, Ukraine already received a new Patriot air defense system this week. It is one of those systems previously discussed with German government representatives.
