Our priority is to hand over Patriot to Ukraine - Stoltenberg
As of today, the issue of transferring Patriot batteries to Ukraine is a priority for NATO.
This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday at a joint briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Censor.NET reports citing Interfax-Ukraine.
"Our priority is the transfer of Patriot," he said.
Stoltenberg noted that he also considers it important to repair the air defence systems already available in Ukraine. Another problem, he said, is the supply of missiles for Ukraine's air defence systems by NATO allies.
The NATO Secretary General stressed that Ukraine needs not only Patriot but also other systems, such as NASAMS. "We need a tiered air defence system," Stoltenberg concluded.
As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that work is underway on the possible transfer of additional Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, but there are no specifics yet.
Earlier, Zelenskyy also noted that Ukraine needs at least seven Patriot systems that its partners have. In turn, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin expressed confidence that Ukraine needs integrated air and missile defence, not just Patriot.
