Germany will provide Ukraine with additional missiles for its Patriot air defense systems, while the United Kingdom has pledged £100 million (about $135 million) to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses.
The announcements were made Tuesday during the opening of the 36th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), which was held virtually on September 8.
The UDCG is jointly headed by Germany and the United Kingdom and brings together about 50 nations. Ukraine was represented at the meeting by its new Defense Minister, Yevhen Khmara.
“I have decided to urgently transfer PAC-2 interceptor missiles from Bundeswehr stockpiles to Ukraine. I call on all UDCG members to review their own reserves and make similar deliveries,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at the session’s opening.
He acknowledged that European countries face a difficult balance between their own security needs and providing urgent support to Ukraine. “But please, if in doubt, decide in favor of Ukraine,” Pistorius urged partners.
According to Pistorius, strengthening air defense remains Ukraine’s “most pressing need.”
He noted that Russia, moving very slowly on the front lines, is instead attempting to destroy Ukraine’s economy and critical infrastructure. With winter approaching, he warned, Russian aerial attacks are likely to intensify.
“Ukraine is racing against time as winter nears. Preparing Ukraine for the cold is the highest priority, and it requires decisive and immediate action,” said the German defense minister.
Pistorius also announced that, in addition to the PAC-2 interceptors, Germany will increase supplies of AIM-9 air-to-air missiles from Bundeswehr stocks.
Deliveries of IRIS-T air defense systems and their missiles would also continue, he said. Ukraine is expected to order several thousand more IRIS-T guided missiles, to be financed through an EU support loan.
Germany will also continue deliveries of drones and will “fund several tens of thousands of long-range artillery shells” to be procured for Ukraine through the British artillery and air defense consortium.
UK Defense Secretary Wes Streeting officially announced £100 million in funding (about $135 million) under the PURL program for the rapid delivery of interceptor missiles.
He added that the UK remains on track to supply Ukraine with 120,000 drones this year. More than 25,000 drones have already been delivered, with the rest expected to arrive before winter.
Streeting also said the UK will continue supplying Ukraine with large-caliber artillery munitions and noted that in July London sent its millionth shell to the Ukrainian front.
“Tens of thousands more shells will be delivered soon thanks to funding from our friends in Germany, Denmark, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden,” Streeting said.
Ukraine’s main challenge today is a shortage of missiles for air defense systems, Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara said. He informed the group that Ukraine, with the help of partners and EU-backed credit, is contracting for the delivery of about 1,000 Patriot missiles. “But most of these missiles will only begin arriving in the coming years. That is why we are asking you today to supply missiles from your own reserves in exchange for later deliveries of upgraded missiles under our contracts,” Khmara told partners.
He emphasized the importance of receiving additional air-to-air missiles and man-portable air defense systems to counter Russian drones, particularly jet-powered and Shahed-type drones. Khmara noted that Ukraine is developing less expensive means to intercept such drones, and these systems are already being tested in combat conditions.
Khmara also urged partners to make “necessary financial decisions” for military support prior to November, “so we may see results on the battlefield as early as this winter”.
He said that, of the €70 billion pledged by partners for defense at the NATO summit in Ankara this year, Ukraine has received or has confirmed commitments for €62 billion. However, Kyiv estimates an additional defense funding shortfall of about €23 billion (about $27 billion).
Urgent support for Ukraine is needed because delays cost lives, said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “Today I will call on all countries to help Ukraine. In my view, we have no other choice,” the secretary general said.
He reminded the group that Kyiv needs more air defense systems, drones and long-range munitions.
Russia, he said, is adapting its war against Ukraine by increasingly using North Korean missiles and jet-powered drones. “To overcome all these challenges, Ukraine needs our support,” Rutte stated.
US Deputy Defense Secretary for Policy Elbridge Colby said Europe must continue supporting Ukraine while also building up its own defense capabilities.
“We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine’s needs to persist in the coming months and years,” Colby said, adding that allies must also plan for “other possible unforeseen contingencies.”
These realities, he emphasized, underscore the importance of European support for Ukraine and the need for Europe to accelerate its own rearmament.
Colby urged European countries to keep purchasing weapons for Ukraine through the PURL mechanism and to plan for long-term production that would strengthen both Ukraine and Europe’s defense industrial base.
“Words are not enough. Actual funding and production capacity must be mobilized,” the US official said.
(UAWire)
