Defence24: Poland Has Supplied Ukraine With 5 PAC-3 Missiles

Poland has supplied Ukraine with 5 PAC-3 MSE missiles, which are used by the Patriot air defense system to intercept ballistic missiles.

Defence24 reported on this and determined the exact number.

Previously, the supply of these interceptor missiles had been the subject of political debate in Poland.

On Monday, Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that Poland’s decision to transfer PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine was made at the request of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and, among others, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), following consultations with Patriot operator nations.

The minister emphasized that the number of missiles transferred represents “the limit of our capabilities” and “does not affect Poland’s air defense capabilities.”

At the same time, Deputy Minister Cezary Tomczyk announced that Poland had “reached an agreement” with the NATO Secretary General and the United States that, in exchange for transferring “several” Patriot missiles to Ukraine, Poland would receive “ten times as many missiles and systems of this type within the first 24 hours of a threat.” Later, the official stated that Poland had transferred “several” such missiles to Ukraine.

The published data definitively confirmed Poland’s transfer of PAC-3 missiles for Ukraine’s Patriot systems. In April, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, during an address to his colleagues at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the “Ramstein” format, thanked partners for transferring missiles for Patriot systems, among them Poland.

The shortage of PAC-3 missiles remains one of the key challenges facing Ukraine’s air defense. During one of the most recent massive Russian attacks, Ukraine was unable to intercept a single ballistic missile due to a lack of suitable interceptor missiles.

According to Air Force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat, the Russian command is deliberately exploiting this shortage and relying primarily on ballistic weapons.

Intercepting such targets is significantly more difficult than shooting down cruise missiles or drones.

In early July, the Ministry of Defense announced that Ukraine had taken a step toward purchasing approximately 100 interceptor missiles for the Patriot systems using funds from a European Union loan.

During a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara on July 8, U.S. President Donald Trump raised the possibility of granting Ukraine a license to manufacture missiles for the Patriot air defense systems.