Germany will send 30 Patriot missiles to Ukraine

JAKARTA - German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has coordinated with European partners to send 30 Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles to Ukraine, as well as additional missiles from the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) reserves for a total of about 35 units.

German Defense Ministry confirmed that a new phase of delivery is being planned, and said Germany had succeeded in convincing partners to provide additional PAC-3 missiles.

For security reasons, the ministry's representative refused to provide details on the exact number and schedule of the missile delivery.

In addition to the aid package, Germany also plans to supply Ukraine with more air defense systems, including portable air defense systems or MANPADS, AIM-9 and IRIS-T missiles, as well as spare parts for Patriot and IRIS-T systems, ministry representatives said.

The representative added that Germany would continue to support the development of Kiev's air defense.

In February, Pistorius said Berlin would supply Kiev with five additional PAC-3 interceptor missiles if other countries donated a total of 30 missiles of that type.

Russia has repeatedly stated that the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine hinders the resolution of the military conflict and makes the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries parties to the crisis.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will be a legitimate target for the Russian military.