Greece and Spain dash Zelenskiy’s hopes for new Patriot batteries. Only Romania, the Netherlands and Poland still have the systems in the EU

The race to send anti-aircraft batteries to Ukraine has begun, but it looks like they won’t come from Spain or Greece, POLITICO writes. The two countries refused to follow Germany’s example and send Kiev the Patriot systems they have in their possession, according to the media. On Friday, about 50 countries will meet via video conference for US-led talks on coordinating additional military aid. Along with Spain, Greece and Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Poland also have Patriot systems in their inventory, according to POLITICO.

Madrid will not redistribute one of its three Patriot systems to Ukraine, the Spanish publication El País reported on Friday. Instead, Spain is committed to sending only a number of missiles that can be used in versions of the surface-to-air system that Kiev already has.

While the additional firepower would be welcome, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was far from having at least seven batteries of high-quality air defense systems to launch the missiles needed to protect cities and critical infrastructure. by the Russian attacks.

The allies hoped that Spain could be one of the donors, writes News.ro

Meanwhile, however, Athens has also refused to promise a system, given its security concerns with Turkey. “Greece will not send S-300 or Patriot to Ukraine,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during an interview late Thursday evening with the national Skai TV station, according to Reuters. In recent days, Greek media had reported that an exchange deal could be possible, whereby the United States would agree to replace either an Athens-based Patriot system or a Soviet-era S-300 system that is lying dormant, stationed on the island of Crete so that they could be sent to Ukraine. “We’ve been asked and we’ve explained why we can’t do this,” Mitsotakis said, explaining that the systems are “essential to (our) deterrence capability.”

Germany, which has promised Ukraine three of its Patriot batteries, has led the way in lobbying other countries to donate their unused systems. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this week that he “expects” countries to make that commitment, adding that he “cannot understand” the refusal of countries such as Spain and Greece.

Spain will send only a small number of Patriot missiles to Ukraine in response to pressure from EU and NATO allies to send more military aid to Kiev, El Pais newspaper reported on Friday. The publication, citing unidentified government sources, writes that Spain has ruled out the delivery of Patriot anti-aircraft launchers, but will supply the Ukrainian army with missiles for this system. “The transfer of a small number of missiles came after the Ministry of Defense refused to hand over to Ukraine the battery it has deployed since 2013 on the Turkish-Syrian border,” stated El Pais. “It will be a very limited number, because the Spanish war reserve is about 50 units, and the interceptors are very expensive,” El Pais sources explained, according to Reuters.

Spain has three Patriot batteries, which it bought second-hand from Germany in 2004 and 2014, according to El Pais.

On Monday, European Union ministers said they were looking at how to provide more air defense to Ukraine, but made no concrete promises about the Patriot systems, which Kiev values ​​most.

The United States will host a virtual meeting of international aid donors to Ukraine on Friday, days after Congress broke a half-year gridlock by approving a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine. Along with Spain, Greece and Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Poland have Patriot systems in their stocks, notes POLITICO.

Publisher: VM