Ukraine's Defense Minister Sends Letters to 40 Countries Seeking Patriot Missiles!

Four countries have already expressed willingness to provide additional funding.

Russia warns that all supply routes transporting Ukrainian air defense equipment are legitimate military targets.

According to TASS, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksandr Fyodorov recently sent open letters to defense ministers of nearly 40 countries, urgently requesting emergency deployment of Patriot PAC-3 air and missile defense systems. Some nations have directly loaned entire Patriot air defense systems.

Due to Russia’s ongoing large-scale long-range missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, power plants, and transportation hubs, the consumption rate of existing Patriot interceptors far exceeds Western replenishment speed. Ukraine’s few Patriot systems are now running critically low on ammunition, making it difficult to cover key cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv.

The Patriot system is Ukraine’s only long-range air defense equipment capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.

Fyodorov appealed: The immediate priority is interceptors—filling current Patriot launch unit ammunition gaps would also suffice.

He called on European nations possessing Patriots to temporarily lend their operational full systems for combat use, with replacement and return after the war;

Regarding funding, he urged allies to push for joint financing through Ukraine’s Priority Urgent Requirements List (PURL), enabling bulk procurement of Patriot missiles. This mechanism, led by the United States, involves allied nations sharing costs for purchasing U.S.-made weapons to support Ukraine;

Meanwhile, he urged allies to pressure U.S. defense companies to expand production capacity and shorten delivery timelines.

Internal Ukrainian assessments indicate that at least seven to ten additional complete Patriot systems—and thousands of interceptor missiles—are still needed.

Since the conflict began, multiple countries have already provided Patriot equipment to Ukraine:

The United States has delivered multiple Patriot systems along with supporting missiles;

Germany has cumulatively delivered five Patriot systems;

The Netherlands and Romania have supplied Patriot launch units, radars, and other components to assemble operational systems;

Norway and Denmark have funded missile purchases and delivered them via the PURL mechanism.

Now, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and Romania have responded positively, expressing willingness to increase funding for additional missile procurement. Germany plans to purchase two more Patriot systems and transfer them directly to Ukraine;

France, the UK, and some Southern European nations remain cautious and hesitant.

The UK and France prefer supplying domestically developed air defense systems (such as SAMP-T and Storm Shadow-compatible air defense munitions) rather than lending U.S.-made Patriots, fearing weakening their own national air defenses;

Spain and Italy cite tight domestic defense budgets, contributing only limited funds.

As the producer of the Patriot system, the United States has agreed to open the PURL procurement channel but refuses direct large-scale free donations of missiles. It demands that European allies bear the majority of procurement costs while imposing strict limits on the number of Patriot systems that can be loaned, citing concerns over technology leakage.

Russia’s official statement: Moscow repeatedly criticizes NATO’s continuous delivery of long-range air defense weapons like the Patriot as escalating the conflict and fueling hostilities. Russia explicitly declared that all Western air defense equipment and missile transport routes arriving in Ukraine are legitimate military targets for Russian strikes;

Russia argues that continued military aid only prolongs the war and undermines peace negotiation efforts.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1869650123894980/

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