US promises Ukraine a new shipment of missiles for the Patriot system | War in Ukraine

Under heavy pressure from missile attacks and drones Russian attacks against the energy grid and railways — essential for the movement of weapons on the ground — the Ukrainian Army will be able to count, in the medium term, on more artillery ammunition and a new shipment of missiles for the Patriot defense.

According to the Chief of Staff of the United States Armed Forces, General Charles Q. Brown, the new assistance package for Ukraine, worth six billion dollars (5.6 billion euros) — the country’s largest single contribution since the beginning of the Russian invasion —, “should eliminate the need for front-line ammunition rationing.”

However, the new material may take several months to reach the field, as it will be acquired through a special fund of long-term contracts with the military industry, a slower process than using stocks existing in the USA.

“It’s going to take some time,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acknowledged on Friday at a meeting of the group of countries that have helped finance Ukraine’s war effort since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. “So far, the Ukrainians have managed to resist; with this material movement, they will be able to do much more.”

Despite the note of optimism, in a week marked by the final approval of a new assistance package for Ukraine totaling 61 billion dollars (57 billion euros), Ukrainian leaders continue to receive no response to their requests to send at least seven more Patriot missile systems — and not just more missiles to be used on systems already on the ground.

During Friday’s meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again reinforced the request to send Patriot systems — a request that has been directed to the US, but mainly to Ukraine’s allies in Europe.

In an interview with the Reuters news agency in early April, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine’s allies have more than 100 Patriot systems at their disposal, and that they lack the political will to hand over to the Ukrainian Army at least seven — the minimum number indispensable for strengthening the protection of Ukraine’s airspace, according to Kiev’s assessment.

“Our partners have sent us other types of air defense systems. We appreciate that effort, but it is simply insufficient given the scale of the war,” Kuleba told Reuters. In the same interview, the Ukrainian minister reinforced the idea, shared by the USA, that Ukraine is more than a territory to be invaded by Russia — it is, above all, the first line of defense against an advance by Russia into the rest of the world. Europe.

“We need to understand what is at stake for Ukraine, Europe and the United States,” said the US Secretary of Defense on Friday, before representatives of several European countries. “If Putin triumphs in Ukraine, Europe will face the greatest threat to its security in our lifetime. Russia will not stop at Ukraine.”

At the same time, Lloyd Austin downplayed Ukraine’s urgent requests for at least seven new Patriot defense systems, saying “the Ukrainians also need other types of systems.”

“I wish we didn’t look at the Patriot as a silver bullet,” said the US official.

Greece and Spain are the latest members of the European Union to refuse, for now, sending Patriot systems to Ukraine.

In the case of Greece, the country’s Prime Minister, Kyrios Mitsotakis, said, in an interview with the Skai TV channel, that Patriot “are critical systems for the protection of Greek airspace”, in reference to a potential rekindling of conflicts with Greece. neighboring Turkey.

In Spain, the country’s Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, announced the immediate shipment of missiles to be used in the Patriot system — four, according to average Spanish —, but did not commit to sending systems.

According to an estimate by the Washington DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), each Patriot missile battery — a system with capacity for 32 or 128 missiles, depending on the type of ammunition — costs more than billion dollars, and the cost of each missile is around four million dollars (3.7 million euros).