Politico: Greece, Spain not sending Patriot missiles to Ukraine

The question of why the Hellas and the Spain they are not sending missile systems to Ukraine, which has been receiving Russian bombardments with unabated intensity since February 2022, the German defense minister said Boris Pistoriusaccording to the Telegraph and Politico.

Specifically, on the issue of Ukraine’s missile reinforcement, he recently stated on a television show that he expects countries that have stockpiles of missile systems to help Kiev, noting “if a country has, for example, six or four Patriot systems and is not in the first line to the east, can easily deliver a Patriot system.”

Asked if the German leadership was strongly criticizing Spain and Greece for their refusal to send missile systems, Mr Pistorius replied: “We are talking to them at the moment. I honestly can’t understand.”

It is recalled that yesterday in the interview he gave to SKAI, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis clarified that Greece is not going to send S-300 or Patriot to Ukraine.

According to Politico, Athens is refusing to commit to the Ukrainian prime minister the delivery of missiles for security reasons as the government is concerned about Turkey’s intentions and based on the report the two countries, Greece and Spain, are not going to deliver air defense systems to Ukraine causing a disappointment to the warring country’s prime minister, Volodymyr Zelensky.

It also says that today, Friday, about 50 countries will meet via video conference for US-led talks on coordinating further military aid. Along with Spain, Greece and Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Poland have Patriot systems in their stockpiles.

The Telegraph notes that despite pressure from Berlin, Brussels and Washington, the European states with the system have not fulfilled the Ukrainian request, while recalling that Kiev has stated that it needs at least seven surface-to-air missile systems to protect the its cities from Russia’s long-range bombing.

According to the Telegraph his intervention is a sign that Berlin is failing to persuade its allies to part with the complex systems – which cost up to a billion dollars each and can shoot down Russian hypersonic missiles.

He points out that three of Spain’s Patriots have been deployed on the southern flank of NATO, while the fourth has been stationed in Turkey since 2013 to protect against missile attacks from Syria.

Greece has the largest stockpile of Patriot systems with the country stressing that they are vital to security due to long-standing territorial disputes with NATO member Turkey.

Some European countries, including Sweden and the Netherlands, have suggested they could contribute funds to buy systems from other states willing to transfer missile systems from their own stockpiles.