Following President Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs visit to the Middle East, a decision was reached with some partners to supply Ukraine with PAC-3 Patriot missiles. The only thing left to do was to obtain US consent.
Zelensky reported this during a conversation with journalists.
Answering the question of whether there are agreements on the supply of missiles to Patriot from Middle Eastern countries, Zelensky said:
"Of course, we are raising this issue. It depends not only on this or that country, but also on the United States of America. Because there must be permission even for resale or for them to give them to us. We have already agreed on a decision with someone and now they are working with the United States."
Zelensky recalled that agreements on 10-year defense cooperation have already been concluded with some Middle Eastern countries, and, as he noted, "these are different components of cooperation."
"We are working on PAC-3, on a diesel engine for Ukraine, and on some other things that can make us stronger," he noted.
- PAC-3 is a modern interceptor of the Patriot air defense system, which is designed not only to shoot down a target, but also to destroy it with a direct hit. It differs from older versions in that it does not explode next to the target, but crashes into it at high speed. With such an impact, the energy is enough to destroy the warhead. The main purpose of these missiles is ballistics.
- In early March, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that in just a few days of war in the Middle East, countries had used more than 800 PAC-3 missiles. Ukraine has never had so many missiles at one time. Because of this, Zelensky proposed a “quiet” swap with countries in the region — to receive missiles for Patriot in exchange for interceptor drones.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.