Ukraine to Receive Five Additional Patriot Batteries

Germany will support the delivery of five Patriot air defense batteries to Ukraine in close coordination with other partner nations.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced this during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

Pistorius emphasized that Germany would provide “additional air defense systems and urgently needed ammunition,” and would also “help ensure the swift delivery of five vital Patriot systems” to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses as quickly as possible.

Germany and Norway have expressed their readiness to finance the purchase of a total of three Patriot batteries for Ukraine. As a result, efforts will likely focus on securing additional funding for the remaining two systems.

“How we achieve this will be closely coordinated with our partners in the coming days,” said Boris Pistorius.

The pledged number of air defense systems matches that of the recently postponed ‘Swiss’ contract, which had outlined the delivery of five Patriot PAC-3 systems between 2027 and 2028. However, the U.S. government has delayed those plans in light of Ukraine’s urgent security needs.

The transfer of ‘Swiss’ Patriot missiles to Ukraine was announced by BILD, citing sources in the German government.

Initially, it was planned that the Americans would transfer the systems to Ukraine from their own reserves, and Germany would cover the costs of ordering new ones. But then Trump insisted that the US military could not transfer any of its air defense systems. Europe will not only have to purchase new systems, but also transfer existing systems from its own reserves to Ukraine.

However, Europe also lacks air defense capabilities. For example, at the beginning of 2022, Germany had twelve Patriot systems in service. Three of them were transferred to Ukraine, and two more were deployed in Poland to protect the Rzeszów-Jasionka airport.

In addition, three systems are currently undergoing modernization and are therefore not operational, and at least one more system is needed for training soldiers. This means that at the moment, a maximum of three systems are available for Germany’s air defense. Therefore, confidential talks have been ongoing for several days to determine who can transfer their systems to Ukraine.

“In recent days, we have agreed that we will supply new Patriot systems to Ukraine from the European continent and from Europe as a whole, and that these systems will then be replaced by the United States. After all, we must also maintain our own defense capabilities,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

As a result, Ukraine’s partner countries have agreed that the US will postpone the delivery of Patriot systems to Switzerland in favor of Ukraine.

The first system will be sent not to Bern, but to Ukraine, with Germany covering the cost. However, this system is still being finalized by Raytheon and is expected to be ready in no less than six to eight months. Switzerland ordered five Patriot PAC-3 systems in 2022, with deliveries originally scheduled to begin in 2027 and conclude a year later.

According to BILD, despite the critical shortage, Germany is considering the possibility of transferring another Patriot system from the Bundeswehr’s inventory to Ukraine.