German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday said European Union (EU) leaders are planning to provide Ukraine with seven additional Patriot air-defense systems, according to Bloomberg.
Scholz's comments come as Russia continues to bombard Ukraine with missile and drone strikes, many of which striking residential areas and energy infrastructure.
The U.S.-made Patriot is considered among the most effective air-defense systems in the world and has been credited with intercepting Russia's supposedly unstoppable hypersonic missiles. Due to the recent escalation of Russian airstrikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kyiv's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba have renewed their public requests for more Patriots from foreign allies.
Scholz called on Western nations to expedite the process in getting the key weapons to Ukraine.
"I hope that everyone will complete their opinion-forming process as quickly as possible because time is also of the essence," the German leader said, per Bloomberg.
Zelensky earlier this month said his country needed 25 Patriot systems, with up to eight batteries each, "to cover Ukraine completely."
Ukraine is believed to be operating a minimum of three at the moment, and at least one battery has been damaged but it is thought to have been promptly repaired.
Kuleba has said he was putting his efforts into quickly sourcing seven Patriots—the number cited by Scholz on Thursday.
Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email on Thursday night for comment.
Speaking to The Washington Post for an article published on April 10, Kuleba said that his team had found that there are around 100 Patriot systems globally that could be transferred to Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg disputed that figure on Wednesday, saying at a press conference that there are "significantly" less than 100 Patriots in Europe.
"I cannot go into the exact numbers because that's classified information," he said. "But of course, the whole alliance has a significant number of Patriot batteries."
Germany has been among the most generous aid providers to Kyiv throughout the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin launched in February 2022. According to Bloomberg, Germany will soon deliver more IRIS-T and Skynex air defense systems with the additional Patriots it has pledged.
Ukraine still awaits the outcome of a $61 billion aid package from the U.S. that will soon be voted on by Congress. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said the votes on the package are expected Saturday evening.
President Joe Biden has urged Congress to swiftly pass the package, along with packages that would provide aid to Israel and Taiwan.
"The House must pass the package this week, and the Senate should quickly follow," Biden said on Wednesday. "I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won't let Iran or Russia succeed."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
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