Ukraine urgently requests Patriot missiles from 40 countries
Photo: Patriot air defense system (Getty Images)
Ukraine has appealed to 40 partner countries for the urgent delivery of missiles for Patriot air defense systems as early as July, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense.
It is noted that the missiles are being requested in exchange for future deliveries already contracted for Ukraine.
"Intercepting ballistic missiles remains a key challenge due to the shortage of missiles for Patriot systems," the Ministry of Defense said.
The ministry emphasized that, to strengthen the country's anti-ballistic capabilities, a record contract for hundreds of PAC-2 missiles for Patriot systems was signed in April for the first time, with Germany's support. Deliveries are expected to begin over the coming years.
In addition, for the first time, a step was taken toward purchasing around 100 Patriot missiles worth $1 billion using a European Union loan. This year, Kyiv also began receiving missiles from the stockpiles of friendly countries for the first time.
"However, this is not enough. Ukraine critically needs additional missiles for Patriot systems. They are available in partners' stockpiles. The protection of Ukraine's skies depends on swift decisions, the expansion of the PURL mechanism, and the procurement of missiles through JUMPSTART," the Ministry of Defense stressed.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force reported a critical shortage of missiles for Patriot, NASAMS, and IRIS-T air defense systems. Some units have nearly exhausted their ammunition stocks.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had reached a political agreement on the purchase of additional Patriot systems. However, implementation of the agreement has been delayed due to the need to resolve financial, legal, and technical issues.
