Ukraine receives Patriot air defense missiles from Germany amid shortage, Zelensky says
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Ukraine received crucial PAC-3 missiles used by Patriot air defense systems from Germany, President Volodymyr Zelensky said March 11, according to Ukrinform.
Kyiv's allies agreed to provide the air defense missiles at the most recent meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format on Feb. 12, and Berlin delivered its share on March 10, Zelensky said before a meeting with Julia Klockner, the president of Germany's Bundestag.
German outlet Der Spiegel reported on March 10 that Ukraine is expected to receive 35 PAC-3 interceptor missiles in the coming weeks.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius secured an agreement with European allies to deliver 30 PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in addition to five PAC-3 missiles Berlin would provide from its own stockpiles, the outlet reported.
"While the world is looking towards Iran, we Germans are looking towards Ukraine; we have not forgotten you. And that's why I deliberately came here this time — to clearly say that, in the fifth year of the war of aggression you are enduring, we are not growing tired. And we know this is not just Ukraine's fight," Klockner said.
At the meeting, Ukraine and Germany discussed continued military support from Berlin and agreed to increase joint drone production.
Kyiv has sought cooperation with allies, leveraging battlefield experience and domestically produced arms as invaluable assets.
Ukraine faces a critical shortage of interceptor missiles amid constant Russian ballistic and cruise missile attacks. Patriot air defense systems, particularly the U.S.-made PAC-3 interceptors, are essential for countering high-speed ballistic missiles.
In just three days of fighting in the Middle East, over 800 Patriot missiles were used. This amounts to more Patriot air defense missiles than Ukraine has received throughout the entire Russian full-scale invasion, Zelensky said on March 5.
With the U.S. at war with Iran, Ukraine has voiced its willingness to assist Washington and its Middle Eastern allies, who have faced retaliation from Tehran.
Ukraine deployed a team of specialists and interceptor drones to help protect U.S. military bases in Jordan, Zelensky told the New York Times in an interview published on March 9.
