Donald Trump said that the United States will provide Ukraine with Patriot missile defense systems to protect it from Russian attacks. Just a few weeks after his administration stopped the supply of weapons to Kiev, the American president is now renewing them. The condition is that they are paid for by a third party - Ukraine's partners in the EU.
It is still unclear how many and what kind of weapons Washington will send, but Germany has stated unequivocally that it will pay for at least two anti-aircraft missile systems. "We will send various pieces of very sophisticated military equipment and they will pay us for them 100 percent," Trump said.
Ukraine currently has Patriot systems that were provided to Kiev by the previous Joe Biden administration.
What is the Patriot missile system?
The MIM-104 Patriot is an anti-aircraft missile system (AMS) manufactured by the American aerospace and defense conglomerate Raytheon. It was originally developed to intercept high-flying aircraft. In the 1980s, it was modified to deal with the new threat of tactical ballistic missiles.
The Patriot systems are offered in fully mobile batteries that include a command center, a radar station for threat detection and launchers. In 2022, the US-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) concluded that one of these systems costs over $1 billion.
In addition to the US, the "Patriot" is also in service with the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Taiwan, Greece, Spain, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Romania, Sweden, Poland, Bahrain and Switzerland.
The manufacturer "Raytheon" assures that it will continue to upgrade the system until 2048. The current batteries also provide protection against tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones and aircraft, that is, against all the main air assets that Russia is currently using to attack Ukraine.
However, Russian forces also use smaller devices such as mini-drones, which are kept closer to the ground and are more difficult to track and intercept than the "Patriot" system.
According to the German military, it can track up to 50 targets and hit five of them simultaneously. Depending on the version used, the interceptor missiles can reach an altitude of more than 24 kilometers and hit targets at a distance of up to 160 kilometers. The crew of one such air defense system consists of about 90 servicemen.
"Taurus" against "Patriot"
Although Germany has agreed to pay for "Patriot" for Ukraine, it will not provide Kiev with the long-range "Taurus" missiles it wants. This was confirmed in an interview with "Financial Times" by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
"Taurus" KEPD 350 is a joint German-Swedish cruise missile that is launched from aircraft. While "Patriot" can hit targets within a radius of 160 km and is launched from the ground, the "Taurus" system has a much greater range - up to 500 kilometers.
In the past, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had expressed support for providing "Taurus" systems to Ukraine. Since then, however, Germany has shifted its focus to providing Ukraine with support that would allow it to develop its own long-range capabilities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned Germany not to provide the Taurus to Ukraine.
What missile systems does Ukraine use?
In addition to the previous Patriot deliveries, Ukraine has deployed a range of weapons against Russian attacks. These include short-range air defense systems such as the Russian-made Buk and S-300, older generation American Hawk missiles, and and modern air defense systems such as NASAMS.
Ukraine has also used US-made ATACMS missiles, which have a range of 300 km, after former US President Joe Biden lifted the ban on their use shortly before his term ended last year.
How did Russia react?
Trump's decision comes against the backdrop of seemingly deteriorating relations between him and Putin. Despite several talks between the two leaders, Trump has never been able to end Russia's war against Ukraine. He now claims to be very disappointed with President Putin because he thought of him as a man who kept his word: "He says wonderful things, and then, at night, he bombs people. We don't like that."
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Trump's statement shows that the United States continues to participate in the conflict: "Now it seems that these supplies will be paid for by Europe, some will be paid for, some - not. The fact is that the supply of weapons, ammunition and military equipment from the United States to Ukraine continues."
Authors: Matthew Ward Ages | William Glucroft