The NATO Secretary-General has stated that the allies do not have enough air defence missiles for Ukraine
He made this statement on the eve of the NATO summit in Ankara, according to Bloomberg.
“There is a limit to the number of interceptor missiles available within NATO territory,” Rutte acknowledged.
At the same time, he assured that the allies are working to ramp up production of air defence systems and are seeking further opportunities to support Ukraine.
According to the Secretary-General, all Alliance member states are involved in this process.
The statement came after yet another massive Russian attack on Kyiv, during which Ukrainian air defence forces were unable to shoot down any of the ballistic missiles launched by Russia. Following this, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on partners to urgently supply Ukraine with additional missiles for the Patriot system.
“The United States and Europe have sufficient strength to stop this terror,” Zelenskyy emphasised.
According to Rutte, the latest Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital was “horrific” and demonstrates “the desperation” with which the Russian dictator Putin is acting. However, he did not announce any new specific commitments regarding the supply of additional missiles to Ukraine.
The situation regarding Patriot munitions has deteriorated significantly in recent times. Whilst Ukrainian air defences previously shot down around a third of Russian ballistic missiles, and sometimes more, this figure has fallen sharply during the latest attacks: initially to below 20 per cent, and during the most recent strike, to zero.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov previously stated that Kyiv had approached nearly 40 partner countries with a request to transfer Patriot missiles from their stockpiles in exchange for future deliveries that they had already ordered from the manufacturer.
According to Bloomberg, Germany is currently considering this possibility and may announce its decision during the current NATO summit.
The situation in the United States itself has also contributed to the shortage. According to Bloomberg, Washington is also being forced to conserve Patriot missiles following the extensive use of these munitions in the Middle East.
The US remains the only country that manufactures interceptor missiles for the Patriot systems. President Donald Trump previously stated that he was prepared to consider granting European countries and Ukraine licences to manufacture these missiles, but no practical decisions on this matter have yet been taken.
It should be recalled that the media previously reported that the US is in talks with European countries regarding the joint production of missiles for air defence systems.
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