Germany lists the Patriot system it promised to Ukraine as delivered.
|
Germany has delivered a Patriot air defense system to Ukraine, according to a governmental list that was updated on Tuesday, adding to Kyiv’s defense capabilities as Russia continues to unleash missiles and airstrikes on Ukraine.
Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, confirmed the arrival of the first Patriot systems in the country on Wednesday. “Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine,” he tweeted.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz had promised the advanced U.S.-made system in coordination with Washington after a telephone call with President Biden early this year. The German Army started training about 70 Ukrainian soldiers on the systems at the beginning of February.
Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, has been criticized for dragging its feet in sending heavy weapons to Ukraine, but it has also become Ukraine’s largest weapons donor in continental Europe. According to the government’s calculation, Germany has already sent at least 2.7 billion euros, or nearly $3 billion, in direct military aid.
Before sending the latest system and an unspecified number of Patriot rockets to Ukraine, Germany stationed several of its Patriot systems in eastern Poland in January to help secure NATO’s eastern flank.
The Patriot system is not the only air defense system that Germany has supplied to Ukraine since the war began on Feb. 24, 2022. Last year, Berlin sent both the Gepard armored air defense canon system and a modern Iris-T SLM air defense system, which even Germany’s own armed forces do not have in their arsenals.
Last week, Germany approved the export of five MIG-29 fighter jets that Poland had acquired from former East German military stocks decades ago.
— Christopher F. Schuetze
|