EU readies fresh cash for Ukraine’s air defence as Patriots run short

Brussels is assessing a new payment request from Kyiv worth several billion euros to bolster Ukraine’s air defences, as Russia intensifies its aerial attacks and Ukraine seeks more US-made Patriot interceptors.

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“We have received a new payment request. It is worth several billion euros and would cover Ukraine’s air defences, including the highly advanced PAC-3 Patriot air defence systems,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

EU countries now need to approve a derogation from the conditions of the Ukraine Support Loan, which limits non-European sourcing to 35% of the value of a defence product unless no European alternative is available.

The Commission president did not disclose the exact amount requested, as doing so could have put pressure on member states to approve the full sum sought by Kyiv, a Commission official who asked not to be named told Euronews.

Part of the payment could also come from NATO, although discussions were still ongoing, the official added. No other derogations were requested under this payment apart from the one covering the Patriots.

Russia has intensified its aerial attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, at times launching as many as 30 ballistic missiles in a single night and further straining Kyiv’s already depleted stocks of interceptors.

Patriots are among the most advanced systems available for intercepting ballistic missiles. They take considerable time to manufacture, while stocks have been depleted by more than four years of war in Ukraine and by the US-Iran conflict earlier this year, which forced Gulf states to use large numbers of their own interceptors.

At an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Ireland earlier this week, EU officials lobbied member states with significant remaining stockpiles to share them with Kyiv. So far, however, the pressure has failed to produce the hoped-for results.

“Member states are currently looking at Ukraine’s request, but I can say it’s going in the right direction,” von der Leyen said.

According to Ukrainian media reports, Kyiv has asked the European Commission to allow it to spend around €2 billion on Patriot interceptor missiles. The number of missiles that sum could purchase would depend primarily on the terms of the deal.

For Kyiv, however, the main challenge is not funding but availability.

In July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would need at least 140 Patriot interceptors to defend against a single Russian attack involving around 70 ballistic missiles.

Ukraine has already secured a derogation for US-made Patriots under the €90 billion loan, alongside another allowing the procurement of Chinese drone components, even as France ramps up pressure to phase out non-European suppliers.

National representatives are due to discuss the request on Monday, with a view to approving it as early as next week. The Commission would then need signed procurement contracts before it could disburse the payment.

Von der Leyen also pointed to Freya, a pan-European anti-ballistic missile defence project led by Ukraine’s Fire Point and involving several European companies, as a potential way to help close a critical gap in Europe’s air-defence capabilities.

“Since June, we have issued €8.5 billion for drones and missiles for Ukraine from this loan. And this money would also buy fighter jets from European industry,” she said.