'Systems are there, what is lacking is final go' — Kuleba urges partners not to delay Patriot deliveries
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Aug. 29 urged foreign patners not to delay and provide Ukraine with the promised Patriot air defense systems.
"Good progress has been made, and announcements were made, but again, some Patriot systems were announced and not delivered yet," Kuleba told journalists ahead of an EU ministerial meeting in Brussels.
Ukraine has received at least three Patriot systems from Germany and one from the U.S. Other countries, like the Netherlands and Spain, delivered individual launchers or missiles.
The U.S., Romania, and the Netherlands pledged in June to deliver one additional system each, but no announcement on their arrival has been made so far.
"Some complain (about) bureaucracy... some argue that there are delicate internal moments in their politics," Kuleba said.
"We pay for all these delays with damage and the loss of lives."
The pledged batteries "are there, they are ready for delivery. What is lacking is just the final go, the green light to do it," Kuleba stressed.
The highly advanced Patriot systems have played a crucial role in protecting the Ukrainian sky. They are capable of downing even the most advanced ballistic missiles, such as Kinzhals.
The Patriots are not the only Western systems comprising Ukraine's sky shield. Kyiv has also received IRIS-T, NASAMS, Hawk, and SAMP/T systems.
Italy has promised to deliver a second SAMP/T system in addition to the one already provided jointly by Paris and Rome, and Berlin pledged to transfer four more IRIS-T systems of various ranges within 2024.
During the NATO summit in Washington in July, the allies pledged to deliver "dozens" of air defense systems in the coming months.
Faster air defense deliveries are ever more crucial now as Russia launched its largest aerial attack against Ukraine throughout the full-scale war on Aug. 26.
Chris York
