Germany announced that the latest Patriot air defense system it supplied to Kyiv has arrived in Ukraine, as reported on Friday by German Ambassador to Ukraine Martin Jaeger on X.
“The third Patriot air defense system from Germany has already arrived in Ukraine,” Jaeger said, while mentioning that a Ukrainian system crew had successfully undergone appropriate operational training in Germany in recent months.
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The Patriot is a powerful anti-aircraft missile system that will significantly strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, helping to shoot down ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as aircraft, protecting cities and critical infrastructure.
Berlin had announced in April its plan to provide its third system to Kyiv. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz revealed the transfer of the third Patriot system and IRIS-T systems to Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Olaf Scholz sealed the agreement in April.
“The most urgent need of the Ukrainian [military] now is ammunition, weapons, especially air defenses. Therefore, over the next weeks and months, we will provide Ukraine with the third Patriot syste, IRIS-T and Gepard systems, missiles, and ammunition,” Scholz said.
In early June, Zelensky stated during his speech at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024 in Berlin that Russia’s biggest strategic advantage over Ukraine is its advantage in the sky. The answer to this terror is air defense, he said.
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“We need at least seven Patriot systems to secure our main urban agglomerations in the near future, and this will be a driver for preserving the normal life in Ukraine that our people deserve so much,” Zelensky said.
“In other words, it will directly contribute to defense and ensure that the economic life of the country is not destroyed,” he added.
Zelensky mentioned that Ukraine together with Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, and other partners are working to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems and already looking at how and when they will be able to deliver new systems.
A new batch of Patriot missiles from Spain arrived in Ukraine on June 21 as part of Madrid’s latest military pledge for Ukraine as renewed Russian missiles continued to pound Ukraine’s dwindling energy infrastructure.
The arrival of fresh Patriot missiles and systems could help Kyiv fend off Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure. Over the course of three months, Moscow was able to wipe out half of the power generation needed to power Ukraine last winter by capitalizing on the latter’s lack of air defenses.
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