Germany takes aims at Spain and Greece for not giving Ukraine Patriot missiles
Germany has criticised its Nato allies Spain and Greece for not donating their Patriot air-defence systems to Ukraine.
Kyiv has said it needs at least seven of the American-made surface-to-air missile batteries to protect its cities from Russia’s long-range bombardments.
Despite pressure from Berlin, Brussels and Washington, European nations with the system have failed to fulfil the Ukrainian request.
Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defence minister, said: “Many countries have Patriot systems or comparable.”
“Let’s say if a country has, for instance, six Patriot systems or four and is not in the front line to the east, it can easily hand over a Patriot system,” he added in a television appearance on Tuesday.
Asked by the host whether it was a pointed criticism of Spain and Greece, Mr Pistorius replied: “We’re talking to them right now. I honestly can’t understand.”
His intervention is a sign of the struggles Berlin is failing in convincing its allies to part with the complex systems – which cost up to $1 billion each and can shoot down Russian hypersonic missiles.
Germany this month wrote to dozens of countries to appeal for more air-defence systems for Ukraine as part of a campaign to plug gaps in Kyiv’s defences.
But since the initiative’s launched, only Berlin has decided to send a Patriot system to Ukraine from its arsenal.
Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, has revealed there are spare systems stockpiled by the alliance’s member states that were discovered after an internal audit.
Six European states – Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain – operate Patriot.
Many of them argue they cannot spare them to Kyiv because of their own national or Nato defence plans.
But particular focus has fallen on Madrid and Athens because their systems are used to defend areas that aren’t considered high risk at the moment.
Three of Spain’s Patriots are deployed on Nato’s southern flank, while the fourth has been stationed in Turkey since 2013 to protect against missile attacks from Syria.
Greece has the largest stock of Patriot systems that it claims are vital to security because of long-standing territorial disputes with fellow Nato member Turkey.
Nato officials believe the Mediterranean countries should consider sparing Patriots for Ukraine as the systems used in Poland and Romania are more vital because of their proximity to the Russian border.
The White House’s $1 billion announcement of weapons transfers to Kyiv made no mention of Patriot deliveries.
Some European countries, including Sweden and the Netherlands, have suggested they could contribute funds towards the purchase of systems if other governments are willing to transfer from their own stockpiles.
