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EU approves €3.2 billion purchase of Patriot missiles for Ukraine – von der Leyen
The European Union has approved the purchase of €3.2 billion worth of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems under the €90 billion loan.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced this on X, Censor.NET reports.
Details
"Together with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, I welcome the member states’ agreement to grant Ukraine a derogation from the restrictions, allowing it to purchase critical supplies for Patriot air defence systems.
The next tranche of €3.2 billion will enable Ukraine to better protect its skies from Russia’s indiscriminate attacks. This is in addition to the €8.4 billion already allocated under the Ukraine Support Loan, including for air defence," she said.
Background
- EU member states received Ukraine’s request to use several billion euros from the €90 billion loan to purchase PAC-3 missiles for Patriot air defence systems.
- Earlier, the European Commission received a list of weapons from Ukraine on which it plans to spend the bulk of the €6 billion remaining in the defence component of the loan — most items on the list are equipment manufactured in Ukraine and the EU, primarily drones.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had reached an agreement with the United States on monthly deliveries of Patriot interceptor missiles. At the same time, he reported a shortage of these missiles: according to him, Ukraine needs to receive at least around 5% of US production of such missiles to get through the winter.
