German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that the country has already transferred a quarter of its Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine and is currently unable to provide more. However, Berlin is actively working to purchase additional systems from other countries and transfer them to the Ukrainian side.
Pistorius said this in Brussels before the start of a regular meeting of the Contact Group on Defence of Ukraine. He stressed that Germany has already appealed to the United States and its allies to provide Patriot systems or similar systems, stressing the urgency of the deliveries: “We are ready to finance these systems if our partners can provide them faster than is possible through the manufacturer.”
The German Defence Minister also announced the continuation of the Immediate Action on Air Defence initiative. Last year, it helped to raise about one billion euros to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence, and now Berlin hopes for an even greater effect.
“Ukraine’s air defence is one of our top priorities,” Pistorius said.
