Ukraine is developing Patriot analogues.
This was reported by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference.
According to him, not all the weapons agreed upon in July 2024 at the NATO Washington Summit have yet arrived in Ukraine, including Patriot.
At the same press conference, the president emphasized that Ukraine needs 20 more Patriot systems. He said that the estimated price of each system is $1.5–1.8 billion. So far, Ukraine has received the largest number of Patriots from Germany.
- In early summer 2024, Kyiv actively called on allies to provide Ukraine with additional Patriot systems and other air defense assets to protect against Russian attacks.
- Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Western countries have provided Ukraine with various air defense systems, but all missiles can only be shot down by American Patriot air defense systems — the Ukrainian military has only a few of these units. Former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has repeatedly called on foreign partners to transfer 5-7 Patriot systems to Ukraine, calling this number the minimum necessary. 25 Patriot systems are needed to fully protect the skies over Ukraine.
- Last September, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis signed a decree to transfer Patriot systems to Ukraine. The Romanian Ministry of Defense said it would supply one of seven systems in the 3+ configuration purchased from the United States. This is the most advanced version of the Patriot defense system, used by the United States and nearly 20 other NATO allies.
- In November 2024, the Netherlands delivered three new Patriot air defense system launchers to Ukraine.
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