War in Ukraine: Patriot delivery to Ukraine can start

The delivery of two Patriot air defense systems planned by the federal government can start to Ukraine. In return, the prerequisite was that the US manufacturer would deliver new systems as soon as possible so that Germany could continue to do justice to its NATO obligations, said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD). “This promise from the US side is there.” Therefore, Germany can first support Ukraine with starting equipment and then with further system shares.

Specifically, the Bundeswehr will deliver further patriot start devices (“Launcher”) to Ukraine in the coming days, as the ministry announced. In a second step, it will be handed over to further system shares within the next two to three months to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense with additional patriot batteries. The systems that would be affected by repair measures in the short and medium term should now be prepared for use and then handed over to them ready for use.

The US Department of Defense has agreed that Germany will be the first nation in return and accelerates newly produced systems of the latest generation. The financing is carried out by Germany.

It was originally planned to buy two patriot systems for about one billion euros each in the United States and to bring them directly to Ukraine. However, since they are not immediately available, the Bundeswehr should now hand in two of their still nine patriots and then get a replacement from the USA.

This procedure is the result of close coordination with the USA and the NATO partners, the Ministry explained. Department chief Pistorius and his US colleague Pete Hegseth entered the concrete coordination at a meeting in mid-July in Washington. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had already shown himself confidently that an agreement can be reached soon.

Germany already delivered three patriot systems

With a view to three Patriot systems already delivered, Pistorius emphasized it again: “Germany is by far the strongest supporter of Ukraine in the field of air defense.” With the agreed solution, you are now in advance in order to quickly cover the currently very urgent needs of Ukraine, the ministry said. This is associated with the appeal to the partners to make additional systems available promptly.

According to the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj, Russia used more than 5,100 sliding bombs, 3,800 combat drones and almost 260 rockets in July alone. According to Selenskyj, 31 people were killed in a massive attack on Kyiv on Thursday night.

As the Federal Ministry of Defense explained, highly efficient air defense systems such as Patriot are in short supply, and the production of some components takes years. With a view to the solution to the upcoming delivery, the department emphasized that the Bundeswehr would continue to ensure that the Bundeswehr would continue to ensure NATO air defense and the training of the Air Force’s aircraft group without restrictions.