US President Donald Trump has said the United States will send Patriot missiles and other equipment to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Germany is launching its own production of air defense missiles.
US President Donald Trump has said the United States will send Patriot missiles and other equipment to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Germany is launching its own production of air defense missiles.
According to Reuters and Bloomberg, the White House chief did not specify the exact number of Patriots he plans to send to Ukraine. However, he stated that the European Union will reimburse America for their cost.
«We’re going to send them Patriots, which they desperately need, because Putin has really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then bombs everyone in the evening. But there’s a little problem here. I don’t like it. Essentially, we’re going to supply them with various types of very sophisticated military equipment. They’re going to pay us 100% for it, and that’s exactly what we want,» Trump told reporters.
Trump said he «hasn’t agreed on the number yet.» «But they will have some because they need protection. But the European Union is paying for it. We are not paying anything for it. But we will send it, it will be a business for us. And we will send them Patriots, which they urgently need,» the head of the White House said.
At the same time, Western media outlets are divided on what exactly the US president meant. Some media outlets write that he was referring to Patriot missiles, others that he was referring to the air defense systems themselves, and a number of media outlets write that Trump meant both missiles and the anti-aircraft missile systems themselves.
Germany could also potentially send missiles to Ukraine for Patriot air defense systems, as it recently opened its own production line for these missiles, said Christian Freuding, head of the special staff for Ukraine at the German Ministry of Defense, a hromadske correspondent reports.
Freuding was asked about Germany’s ability to produce missiles for Patriot and then transfer them to Ukraine. In response, the German general said that Germany has already launched its own independent production line for missiles for Patriot systems. The first deliveries of these missiles produced in Germany are expected in 2026-2027. When asked whether Berlin would then be able to provide missiles to Kyiv without the consent of the United States, Freuding emphasized: «This is an independent production line. So this new production line will be a European production line.»
Meanwhile, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with the Financial Times that Germany would not be able to give Ukraine more Patriot air defense systems, as the country has only six left. He also said that Berlin has no plans to supply long-range Taurus missiles to Kiev. Pistorius said that Berlin had already transferred three of its 12 Patriot systems to Kiev: «We only have six left in Germany.» He explained that the other two had been provided to Poland, and at least one was always unavailable for maintenance or training.
