Berlin wants a "firm commitment" from the US to quickly replace the US "Patriot" air defense systems that Germany and other NATO countries have promised to Kiev, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview today, quoted by Agence France-Presse.
"We expect NATO to turn to the US again and make it clear to the manufacturer of the "Patriot" systems that the countries supplying these systems must be equipped with new systems within a few months", Pistorius told the German weekly "Spiegel".
This "commitment" should be "firm", the minister said, adding that the maximum replacement period should be six to eight months.
Last Monday, US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced a key plan for Ukraine, under which European allies and Canada would purchase American weapons for Ukraine, in particular "Patriot" systems.
Germany has promised to deliver two "Patriot" systems to Ukraine, considered one of the best air defense systems due to their ability to shoot down drones and missiles.
Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden have said they are ready to help finance the delivery of "Patriot" systems, which the US, under the Trump administration, no longer wants to deliver directly to Kiev. A total of five "Patriot" systems should be delivered to Ukraine, which is subject to almost daily Russian air attacks, AFP points out.
"There is money for the "Patriot" systems. Now we need to procure the systems themselves," Pistorius summed up today to journalists in a new appeal to the Americans who produce them.
The rapid replacement of these weapons is necessary because it is important that "the countries that transfer them can continue to fulfill their obligations to NATO and that gaps in the security of the pact are not created," the German minister stressed.
Since February 2022, Germany has already sent three "Patriot" systems to Kiev and still has nine: two are deployed in southeastern Poland to protect the airport in Rzeszow, from where weapons supplies to Ukraine depart, and another is used to train Ukrainian soldiers from the Bundeswehr. The country uses the rest for its own defense.
According to the publication "Politico", Germany is taking one "Patriot" system from its own stockpile of 9 systems and delivering it to Ukraine, while also financing the purchase of a second one, which was supposed to be delivered by the US to Switzerland, but will ultimately be destined for Ukraine, which needs it more.