Ukraine may receive Patriot missiles that are nearing the end of their service life — Foreign Ministry
Ukraine is negotiating with its partners regarding the transfer of additional interceptor missiles for air defense systems, specifically for the Patriot systems.
These are munitions whose shelf life is nearing its end but which can still be used to defend Ukrainian airspace.
This was announced by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhyi during a briefing in Kyiv.
According to him, new agreements on strengthening Ukraine’s air defense were reached during the Ukrainian president’s recent visits to London and Tallinn.
“I can lift the veil a little to reveal that during the President’s recent visits to London and Tallinn, a number of new decisions regarding air defense were also reached during negotiations with our allies,” Tykhyi stated.
According to the diplomat, the Ukrainian side has already identified additional air defense systems and interceptor missiles that could be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Currently, the main task remains securing funding and expediting the necessary decisions.
“Ukraine has managed to identify a number of additional assets—both systems and interceptors—thanks to cooperation with a number of countries. That is, certain additional resources have been identified that require financial support, and Ukraine is actively working to secure these resources. And a number of resources have already been secured,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
The ministry hopes that once the negotiation process is complete, deliveries can take place relatively quickly. This applies to both the air defense systems themselves and the ammunition for them.
Separately, Tykhyi drew attention to the possibility of receiving missiles that will soon reach the end of their service life.
According to him, instead of costly disposal or return to manufacturers, such ammunition could be used to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian attacks.
“The Ukrainian side has managed to identify a number of interceptor missiles that will reach their expiration dates in the near future and which can also be obtained for Ukraine. We are currently engaged in active negotiations to secure them,” he emphasized.
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