Germany gives Ukraine all Patriot systems it can – Pistorius
The German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated this during a joint press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart Robert Kaunas in Berlin, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"We, Germany, have done a disproportionately large amount, particularly when it comes to Patriot. We have given up more than a third of our capabilities. We cannot give more, because we ourselves are waiting for replacements. We need to preserve capabilities for training and maintenance. Therefore, we cannot transfer additional systems," Pistorius said.
At the same time, he stressed that Germany remains the sole supplier of IRIS-T systems and continues to provide them to Ukraine. However, according to him, this is not enough given the significant increase in Russian attacks using drones, cruise missiles, and other means over the past 1.5–2 years.
"Despite all the deliveries, this is not enough. That is why the task for all of us together now is to once again look at our stockpiles, especially those who may still have available capabilities," the German defense minister said.
Pistorius called Russia's current massive strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure amid frosts of up to minus 20 degrees Celsius cynical terror against the civilian population, carried out in parallel with negotiations on a possible ceasefire.
"This is what I want to say clearly: this is not accidental. Therefore, it would be good if someone else could find something and deliver it in order to support Ukraine," Pistorius said.
As reported earlier, it became known in December that Germany had sent two more Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, as well as its ninth IRIS-T system.
In January, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the presidents of the United States and Ukraine agreed on ammunition for the Patriot system.
