Romania will transfer to Ukraine a Patriot worth one billion dollars. What will he get in return?

In mid-April, at the NATO-Ukraine Council, Volodymyr Zelensky told alliance members that his country would need at least seven Patriot artillery systems to protect Ukraine from missile attacks by the Kremlin.

“Vladimir Putin must be brought down, and the skies of our country must become safe again… And that depends entirely on your decisions… if we are truly allies,” Zelenskiy said at the conference.

Until now, on the territory of Ukraine, between two and four systems of this type are functional, according to the analysis of official data.

In May of last year, US officials reported that a Patriot battery had been hit by a hypersonic Kinjal missile, damaged but restored to service several months later.

The city of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, the political and administrative center of the country, is defended by two such artillery systems, but for half a year, since the end of American aid, a crisis of projectiles has arisen, making the Patriot batteries less effective.

It was no coincidence that at the end of April, right after the US House of Representatives voted on $60 billion in funding for Ukraine, the first package transferred by the Pentagon also packed a number of Patriot missiles, so that artillery systems to become active again.

Iohannis is open

Two days after Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s speech at the meeting of the allies, Germany announced that it will transfer one more Patriot system to Ukraine, in addition to the two that appear in the military support report published by the German Ministry of Defense.

“I am grateful to Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his decision to provide yet another additional Patriot system to Ukraine and missiles for the existing ones,” the Kiev leader said.

Romania has a multi-year contract with Raytheon Technologies Corp, the company that produces the system, for the delivery of seven Patriot batteries. These would largely secure Romania’s skies from any possible air attack with missiles.

VIDEO. How the world’s most powerful artillery system works

At the moment, one system has been received, installed and is operational on the territory of our country, three others are in the installation phase, and the last three will arrive in the coming years.

The meeting in Washington between Joe Biden and Klaus Iohannis also had on the agenda the possibility of Romania transferring one of the Patriot systems to Ukraine.

“President Biden brought up this issue and I told him I’m open…, meaning we’ll have to talk at home, in the CSAT, see how we can raise the issue, what we can offer and obviously what we can get in return, because, in my opinion, it would be unacceptable for Romania to remain without anti-aircraft defense. I think we will find a solution”, declared Klaus Iohannis, in the press conference that took place after the meeting with the US president.

Three out of seven

This would be the second Patriot system to arrive in Ukraine rather quickly. The third country that announced that it will also transfer such a system is Spain.

Volodymyr Zelensky was able to quickly acquire three of the seven anti-aircraft batteries so effective and needed, showing that the Western alliance still works.

“Believe me… I know a lot more details,” said Klaus Iohannis, referring to the operationalization stage of the Patriot systems in Romania.

“Yes, one is functional and will remain in the country, the others are in advanced stages, and we are talking about one of them,” the president said.

A Patriot system undergoing assembly, adjustment and testing will almost certainly be transferred to Ukraine.

From a military point of view, Romania will not be affected much by this operation. There is a possibility that in exchange for giving up we get other types of weaponry.

From a strategic point of view, the decision will strengthen the relations between our country and the USA, especially in the situation where Joe Biden will win a new mandate as president.

Fuel for the Eastern Flank

Klaus Iohannis, indirectly, linked this support to his political action by which he wants to obtain a leadership position in the Euro-Atlantic structures.

The prospect of becoming NATO Secretary General is quite uncertain, although Iohannis said that together with Joe Biden “we decided to continue the dialogue”. But it is not excluded that, following the meeting, he actually took a step towards a possible position within the European Commission.

I spoke with President Biden about the Strategic Partnership between our countries, how we can make it stronger and how we can deepen it so that it meets the challenges we face in this highly complicated global context.

Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania

Also, Iohannis, in exchange for support for Ukraine, demanded foreign investment in local arms companies.

“Deterrence means we become stronger, and for that we need to allocate larger amounts to the defense industry… But things go much further. If we want to have a functional system on the Eastern Flank, it must have adequate logistical coverage. For example, for fuel. Any army stops if it runs out of fuel and we must have a supply system on the entire Eastern Flank. These issues are vital”, said the President of Romania.

Vladimir Putin relied on the terror caused by the bombs

A Patriot system costs around a billion dollars. It consists of a radar center, which scans a territory with a radius of 150 kilometers, a launcher and missiles.

Because of the high price, the Patriot battery fits into a defense strategy, being connected to other air defense components and systems, so that millions of dollars’ worth of projectiles are not used to shoot down targets of a few thousand.

At the NATO level, there are advanced discussions so that, by the end of the year, Ukraine will be in a situation where it can secure, to a large extent, its airspace.

The Ukrainians need not only Patriot systems, but also other types of anti-aircraft systems and radar interceptors. Understand what is at stake for Ukraine, for Europe, and for the United States. If Putin wins, Europe would face an unprecedented security threat

Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense

The strategy is that through a combination of defensive artillery systems and a squadron of F-16s, Kiev’s forces will be able to shoot down Russian projectiles targeting the country’s major cities and critical infrastructure. Achieving such an objective would represent a turning point in the course of the conflict.

Russia, since the start of the invasion, had an important advantage in terms of air attack, hitting with missiles both military and civilian targets – hospitals, museums, schools, apartment buildings.

Putin bet that through the terror caused by the bombs, the resistance of the Ukrainians would give way, allowing themselves to be conquered.

By transferring a $1 billion Patriot system, Romania is consolidating its status as a key partner of Ukraine both in terms of economic and military support, thus increasing its influence among NATO states as well.