Spain confirms plans to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine

Kateryna Denisova, The Kyiv Independent news desk
·2 min read

Madrid will provide Ukraine with Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles announced on April 26 at the Ramstein-format summit.

Her confirmation follows media reports emerged saying Spain would send "a limited number" of such missiles, as the country only has around 50 total in reserve. Robles did not say how many of the systems Madrid will deliver.

The move is among the latest from Western nations responding to calls from Kyiv for more air defenses in the face of escalating Russian missile and drone attacks on cities across Ukraine.

The minister said that "a set" of Patriot anti-aircraft interceptor missiles will arrive at the logistics base in four days.

Along with the Patriot missiles, Spain pledged to send Ukraine additional equipment in the coming months, including machine guns, vehicles, field artillery howitzers, 155 mm and 120 mm shells, anti-drone equipment, and Leopard tanks, according to the ministry.

Read also: Yermak: ‘I can tell you for sure – there will be more Patriots’

U.S.-made Patriots are highly effective at intercepting Russia's ballistic and cruise missiles. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine needs 25 Patriots to protect the country from Russian attacks, but Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he is for now focused on securing seven to protect Ukraine's largest cities.

Germany said on April 13 that it would provide Ukraine with one more Patriot air defense system, bringing the total number of Patriots supplied by Germany to three.

But hopes that Greece would follow suit were dashed on April 25 when Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his country would not supply Ukraine with Patriots or S-300 missiles.

Kyiv is also pushing Washington for the joint production of Patriot air defense systems, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova said in an interview with European Pravda on April 23.

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