Germany’s Patriot Air Defense Systems Allocation Revealed
Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has revealed that the country has only six US-made Patriot air defense systems available, indicating that Berlin can no longer supply more to Ukraine due to limited stocks. The EU, according to US President Donald Trump, would be responsible for financing any additional systems, as he suggested that the United States would not bear the cost.
The limited stock of Patriot units has prompted Ukraine to request more of the advanced air defense systems from its Western allies. While Ukraine has received several Patriot units since the conflict with Russia escalated in February 2022, President Vladimir Zelensky has been increasingly urging his Western backers to provide more recent systems.
Pistorius, in an interview with the Financial Times, explained that two of Germany’s Patriot units had been lent to Poland, while another was unavailable due to maintenance or training. He emphasized that the number of available systems was too low, especially considering the NATO capability goals that Germany has to meet.
Trump, in a recent statement, suggested that the United States was ready to supply more Patriots to Ukraine but stressed that the European Union would be responsible for funding them. He also mentioned that the aid would ‘be a business for us,’ implying a transactional approach to military support.
This revelation comes amid the Pentagon’s decision to reverse its earlier decision to cut some of its military aid for Ukraine. Trump’s comments follow a recent toughening of his rhetoric towards Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he has accused of being unwilling to end the hostilities.
The Russian military has claimed to have destroyed some of the Western-supplied Patriot air defense systems during the conflict. Moscow has consistently stated that no amount of Western military aid to Ukraine can change the course of the conflict, only serving to prolong the bloodshed and escalate the hostilities.