Germany is considering sending a fourth Patriot air-defense missile battery to Ukraine as allies struggle to deliver equipment that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urgently requested to fend off Russia’s fresh assault.
As reported by Bloomberg, the Patriot battery would come on top of the three that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has pledged already, including as recently as April, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. Germany hasn’t yet taken a final decision, they said.
The government in Berlin has been out front on efforts to pool air-defense capability among Ukraine’s allies as momentum in the war has shifted in Russia’s favor. Moscow’s forces have battered Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and launched sustained attacks on Kharkiv, the country’s No. 2 city, as part of a renewed assault to exploit Kyiv’s dwindling stocks of ammunition and manpower.
Zelenskyy and his top officials have increasingly called on allies to dispatch more air defense since Russian forces poured across the border in the region around Kharkiv last month. The surprise attack opened a new front designed to force Ukraine to divert military strength from the more than 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) front line.
Foreign Minister of Germany Annalena Baerbock said in May her government had raised almost $1.1 billion for additional air-defense support, primarily missiles. Berlin has also delivered dozens of Gepard anti-aircraft guns and several Iris-T air-defense units.
But since Russia has renewed its offensive, only Berlin has pledged an additional air-defense system of its own. Allies including the US and Romania are considering sending a Patriot battery each, Bloomberg reported. Italy is set to send one of its SAMP-T systems after this month’s Group of Seven summit.
The Netherlands said in late May it was launching an initiative to assemble a Patriot system from core components and stock parts donated from allies, with the aim of having it operational in Ukraine as soon as possible.
Read more:
- Bloomberg: Biden administration seeks to send additional patriot missiles to Ukraine
- Romania mulls sending Patriot missiles to bolster Ukraine’s defenses
- Ukraine’s FM Kuleba urged the world to provide weapons to Ukraine rather than think about concessions to end the war
- Zelenskyy urged the world to help Kharkiv: two Patriot systems will fundamentally change the situation
- Western permission for strikes inside Russia stops S-300 attacks on Kharkiv for days
