Germany can’t provide Ukraine with any more US-made Patriot air defense systems because it would dangerously deplete its own stocks, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said.
In an interview with the newspaper Berliner Morgenpost published on Friday, Pistorius noted that Berlin had already delivered several Patriot systems and large numbers of guided missiles to Kiev.
“We cannot provide any more at this moment,” the German defense chief stated, explaining that anything Germany supplied now would not be replaced “for the foreseeable future.”
Pistorius urged other Western nations, whom he accused of having “contributed significantly less,” to step up deliveries of air defense systems to Ukraine.
Pistorius had already warned in January that Germany could not send any more Patriot systems, saying it had already handed over more than a third of its capabilities to Ukraine.
Germany, one of Kiev’s key Western backers, has launched a massive rearmament drive since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz setting the goal of building Europe’s strongest conventional army. Berlin has cited a perceived threat from Russia, while Moscow has repeatedly dismissed as “nonsense” claims that it intends to attack NATO.
Apart from a shortage of Patriot air defense systems themselves, Ukraine has experienced significant shortages of modern PAC-3 missiles capable of intercepting ballistic rockets. The deficit intensified after Russia stepped up its long-range missile and drone strikes on military-related targets across Ukraine. Moscow has described its strikes as retaliation for Kiev’s UAV attacks on energy facilities and other civilian infrastructure inside Russia.
Intercepting ballistic missiles can require launching two Patriot interceptors at a single target, with each missile costing between $3.5 and $5 million. Russia, meanwhile, has repeatedly launched large-scale strikes involving dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones.
The US and its allies are also reportedly facing severe shortages of Patriot interceptors after Washington expended large quantities of air defense ammunition during its war against Iran earlier this year. The shortages have reportedly forced Washington to delay contracted deliveries of PAC-3 interceptors to some customers in Europe and Asia.
Nevertheless, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly demanded that Western backers provide Kiev with more interceptors.
Late last month, Ukrainian Defense Minister Evgeny Khmara asked France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and Poland to donate 10% of their respective interceptor stockpiles to Kiev.
However, the Netherlands and Poland had previously indicated that they had no Patriot missiles to spare, while other European countries are reportedly holding back their own PAC-3 reserves as well.
Moscow has consistently denounced Western weapons deliveries to Ukraine, arguing that they only serve to unnecessarily prolong the bloodshed without changing the conflict’s ultimate outcome, while increasing the risk ofa direct clash between Russia and NATO.
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