In addition to anti-aircraft missiles, Ukraine says it also urgently needs additional anti-aircraft systems, preferably Patriot systems. According to Ukrainian President Voldomir Zelensky, his country needs at least 7. “They can save lives and they should,” he told members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a group of about 50 countries that meet regularly to discuss support for Ukraine.
Ukraine currently has 3, supplied by Germany and the US. Germany recently announced that it would supply an additional system.
But the additional systems will not come from the US, Austin made clear, because there is no room for them. Ukraine therefore mainly looks at European countries that have a lot of them in stock. But countries like Spain and Greece, which have several, want to keep them for their own defense.
Austin said yesterday that the US is working with its allies on a solution. The American minister is said to have had several conversations about this with European colleagues and a number of them said that they would have to “accept more risks”.
At the same time, he emphasized that the West and Ukraine should not focus on the Patriot systems. “They also need other systems.”
