Zelensky Throws Down Gauntlet to West Over ‘Immobile’ Patriot Systems

Kyiv has further doubled down on its calls for currently unused Patriot air-defense systems after NATO committed to stepping up its provisions to Ukraine to protect the country’s skies.

“‘Patriots’ can only be called air-defense systems if they work and save lives rather than standing immobile somewhere in storage bases,” the Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post to social media on Sunday. “‘Patriots’ need to be in Ukrainian hands right now.”

Intense Russian aerial bombardment has forced Ukraine to ramp up on its increasingly desperate search for ground-based air defenses. Moscow has rained down missile strikes on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and residential areas.

The U.S.-made Patriot, the gold-standard of air defense credited with intercepting Russia’s supposedly unstoppable hypersonic missiles, sits firmly at the top of Kyiv’s wish list.

“Give us the damn Patriots,” Kyiv’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told Politico in late March. Shortly after, Zelensky said the country needed 25 Patriot systems, with up to eight batteries each, “to cover Ukraine completely.” Kuleba told The Washington Post earlier this month that securing seven systems was his immediate priority.

German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said on Thursday that Berlin would provide Kyiv with a third Patriot system, urging other European leaders to step up air-defense donations.

Attention has quickly turned to just how many Patriot systems are available for Kyiv, after years of low defense spending in Europe raised concerns over continental NATO ground-based protective hardware.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said European armies have around 100 Patriot batteries. But NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said there were “significantly” fewer than 100 in Europe.

“We know that many countries are sitting on large piles of Patriot systems, maybe not wanting to deliver it directly,” Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, said on Wednesday. “We can buy it from them, we can deliver it to Ukraine, we have the money available. It’s crucial.”

Borrell said on Thursday that there were Patriot systems available in barracks, stored “just in case.”

Stoltenberg told the media on Friday following a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council that the alliance would boost Ukraine’s air defense arsenal.

“NATO has mapped out existing capabilities across the alliance and there are systems that can be made available to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said.

Kuleba said earlier this month that “active negotiations” for another two Patriot systems were underway, without elaborating. The Financial Times reported Ukraine is in talks with Spain and Poland for these systems, citing anonymous officials.

On Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine after the potentially game-changing assistance for Kyiv languished in Congress for months, mired down by political infighting. Lawmakers also approved billions more in aid for other U.S. allies. The Senate will now vote on the package, before it heads to President Joe Biden for sign-off.

Air-defense systems and missiles will likely be a priority in this package after Ukraine used up many of its resources against Russia’s recent airstrikes, said Matthew Savill, director of Military Sciences at the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute think tank.