We will transfer Patriot for Ukraine from our reserves, - Bundeswehr
Ukraine will receive the Patriot system from Germany from the Bundeswehr stockpile, and not from among those that Berlin promised to its allies in Eastern Europe.
David Helmbold, the spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany, clarified this at a briefing on Friday, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.
"As for the obligations to Slovakia, we are continuing the mission. We will also implement the plans for Poland. For Ukraine, it was decided to transfer an additional system, or at least the necessary components, from the Bundeswehr's stocks," the spokesman said, adding that this step is done together with American partners.
He emphasized the importance of helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian airstrikes. Germany, Helmbold reminded, has been helping in this aspect for more than a month: the Armed Forces shoot down aerial targets with Stinger and Strela missiles (the transfer of which was announced on February 26-27, 2022), Gepard and Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled guns, Cobra radar, and the Iris-T system. Patriot will be the next step.
The Ministry of Defense spokesman added that the Iris-T and Patriot air defense systems have different ranges and other differences in functioning. In particular, the Patriot consists of a large number of components, so it is important that it functions in the overall system.
Ukrainian soldiers will be trained in management in Germany and the USA.
