Allies Press Greece to Send Patriot Missiles to Ukraine

Greece is facing constant pressure from its NATO allies and the European Union to provide Ukraine with air defense assets, including Patriot missiles.

eKathimerini reports this, citing its own sources.

According to its data, Kyiv has requested the transfer of up to 200 PAC-2 missiles from the Hellenic Air Force’s stockpiles.

The Ukrainian side argues that some of the Greek missiles have been in service for about 23 years and are nearing the end of their guaranteed service life.

The newspaper notes that the request is focused specifically on ammunition, and not the anti-aircraft systems themselves.

This happened after earlier discussions regarding the possible transfer of some of the six Greek Patriot batteries failed to reach an agreement.

According to sources familiar with the situation, one of the options discussed by the allies was for Greece to sell missiles to Norway, which could then transfer them to Ukraine.

They noted that any transfer would be possible only if the anti-aircraft missiles were deemed serviceable but not critically necessary for Greece’s own defense.

Currently, the Greek government does not appear ready to agree to such an arrangement.

Greek officials emphasize that the country is already contributing to the security of its allies, in particular by deploying a Patriot battery in Saudi Arabia to protect critical oil infrastructure.

Also, they recalled the previous transfer of Sea Sparrow and Crotale missiles to Ukraine after the loss of their operational value to the Greek armed forces.

In April, it was reported that the Hellenic Armed Forces plan to upgrade six Patriot batteries to the PAC-3 configuration and purchase new PAC-3 MSE missiles, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.