Zelenskyy sets hard deadline on Patriot deliveries and warns of shake-up
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (facebook.com/zelenskyy.official)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Ukraine has a "highest political level" agreement on the purchase of Patriot air defense systems, but no legal steps have yet been worked out for the contract.
The head of state spoke about the results of a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Security and Defense Council, and the Presidential Office regarding additional ways to supply air defense systems and missiles to Ukraine.
"We have an agreement at the highest political level on the purchase of Patriots, and this agreement is awaiting implementation at the financial, legal, and technical levels. The delay has been prolonged," he noted.
Zelenskyy stressed that the task is to accelerate this Patriot contract and added that it is the "personal responsibility of the officials involved."
He also said that funds from the European €90-billion support package for Ukraine, as well as other financial resources, should be used as efficiently as possible to fulfill tasks that ensure the protection of Ukrainian lives.
The president set a one-week deadline for all preparatory steps. He said he expects a report on Friday, after which there will either be clarity on the implementation of the Patriot agreement or "serious personnel consequences."
Recall that Russian forces have increased the use of Zircon missiles during strikes against Ukraine. Last night alone, Russia launched eight such missiles; however, Ukrainian air defense was unable to intercept them, as not all systems are capable of countering these aerial targets.
In addition, Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for the Air Force, stated that Ukraine is facing a critical shortage of missiles for Patriot, NASAMS, and IRIS-T air defense systems. In many units, launchers are nearly out of ammunition, and Air Force representatives are forced to urgently request even 5–10 missiles.
