“We definitely canʼt transfer more.” German Defense Minister comments on Patriot transfer to Ukraine

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the country will not be able to provide Ukraine with more American Patriot air defense systems.

The official told the Financial Times about this.

According to Pistorius, two of the weapons systems were provided by the state to Poland, and at least one is permanently unavailable due to maintenance or training. It is known that Germany has already transferred three of its 12 Patriot systems to Kyiv.

"There are only six left in Germany. That is really too few, especially considering the NATO goals we have to achieve. We certainly cannot transfer more," said the head of the German Defense Ministry.

He added that he would discuss with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth a proposal that a German official made last month: to allow Berlin to purchase two Patriot systems from the United States to transfer them to Kyiv.

Germany will not provide Ukraine with its Taurus long-range missiles, Pistorius emphasizes, despite a new wave of Russian attacks and a repeated request from the Ukrainian side.

Patriot for Ukraine

Back on April 10, Zelensky said that Ukraine had handed over to the US a large list of weapons that it was ready to purchase. In particular, it was about the transfer of no less than 10 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems. At a briefing on April 17, Zelensky said that Ukraine was ready to buy at least 10 Patriot complexes from the US, and Trump promised that the US would work on this. Since then, there have been no significant developments on this issue.

On June 25, the US President, answering a Ukrainian journalistʼs question about the supply of Patriots to Ukraine, said: "I want us to be able to provide them."

"They want to get Patriot air defense missiles, and weʼll see if we can make some of them available. We need them too. Weʼve supplied them to Israel. And theyʼre very effective — 100%. Of course, they [the Ukrainians] want them too. I can see that youʼre very upset about that. I want us to be able to provide them," Trump said.

Axios wrote on July 8 that during his last phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump promised him to immediately send Ukraine 10 Patriot missiles and help find other ways to supply weapons.

The next day, July 9, two officials told The Wall Street Journal anonymously that Trump was considering sending another Patriot air defense system to Ukraine after recently promising to bolster Kyivʼs defenses against Russian attacks.

Meanwhile, officials are exploring the possibility of involving other countries in supplying Patriot batteries to Kyiv. Axios also reported that Trump has offered Germany the opportunity to sell one of its existing Patriot batteries to Ukraine.

At a press conference on July 10, Zelensky said that Berlin was ready to pay for two American Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.