Germany is currently unable to transfer the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) to Ukraine. This was announced on February 17 by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
“Take the Patriot missile defense system. At the moment we still have exactly one of these systems in Germany. If I transfer the Patriot to Kyiv now, I won’t even be able to conduct training anymore. And if I can’t train anymore, I won’t be able to train the Ukrainian military anymore,” he told the magazine. Spiegel.
At the same time, Pistorius did not rule out sending Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine in addition to the already promised 14. According to him, Germany undertakes to form a full-fledged tank division by 2025.
On January 17, the Pentagon announced the start of training the military Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to use the Patriot air defense system. Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said that specialists from the United States will train the Ukrainian military who arrived in the country for several months.
The Bloomberg agency on the same day announced the plans of the Netherlands to transfer the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine. At the same time, it was noted that, according to the Dutch Ministry of Defense, the country has only three active Patriot batteries with several launchers. Another one is in reserve.
At the same time, the leader of the Dutch Freedom Party Geert Wilders called this decision irresponsible. According to him, the supply of Patriot puts the country’s security at risk.
The fact that the United States will supply Patriot air defense systems to Kyiv became known on December 21. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who flew to Washington on an official visit that day, noted that he was satisfied with the results of negotiations with his American counterpart Joe Biden.
On the same day, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that Germany was ready to transfer the Patriot air defense system for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but did not have available systems.
At the same time, the Al Jazeera TV channel reported that the training of the Ukrainian military to work with the Patriot air defense system would take place in Germany and another country.
Germany and other Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the backdrop of a Russian special operation to protect Donbass. The decision to hold it was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
