Germany to supply Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense system amid Russian strikes
Germany has decided to supply Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defense system in order to strengthen the country's defenses against Russia, the German Federal Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday, April 13. The anti-aircraft missile system, taken from Bundeswehr reserves, is to be delivered to the Ukrainian side without delay. The decision comes in response to escalated missile and bomb strikes by Russia on Ukrainian territory, the ministry said in a statement.
"We are doing as much as we can in our support for Ukraine, with due consideration of our own readiness for defense," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated. This marks the third Patriot system that Berlin has supplied to Kyiv since Russia began its full-scale war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the transfer of the Patriot air defense system and its missiles. "Thank you, Olaf, for your leadership. It's a real show of support for Ukraine at a critical time for us. I urge all our partner nation leaders to follow this example," Zelenskyy tweeted.
On April 11, the European Parliament postponed its decision to approve funding for the European Council, after European countries failed to commit to supplying Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense systems to defend against Russian missile strikes. According to European Pravda, the decision to delay the approval of the EU Council's budget was initiated by Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt.
In his speech, Verhofstadt pointed out to a new series of Russian strikes on Ukrainian critical infrastructure and emphasized the need to provide Kyiv with more Patriot systems. He indicated, citing EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, that the EU has 100 such systems available, while Ukraine is requesting seven.