German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius criticizes Greece and Spain for not donating Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine

Germany criticizes its NATO allies, Spain and Greece, for not donating the Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. This is reported in an article by Joe Barnes in the British newspaper The Telegraph.

According to the publication

Kiev has said it needs at least seven of the US-made surface-to-air missile arrays to protect its cities from Russian long-range shelling.

Despite pressure from Berlin, Brussels and Washington, the European nations that own the system have been unable to grant the Ukrainian request.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said: “Many countries have Patriot or comparable systems.”

“Let’s say if a country has, for example, six Patriot systems or four and it’s not on the front line in the east, it can easily deliver one Patriot system,” he said in a televised appearance on Tuesday.

Asked by the presenter if it was a strong criticism of Spain and Greece, Pistoistini replied: “We are talking to them at the moment. I honestly can’t understand.”

His intervention is a sign that Berlin is failing to convince its allies to part with the complex systems – which cost up to $1 billion each and can shoot down Russian hypersonic missiles.

Germany wrote to dozens of countries this month appealing for more air defense systems for Ukraine, as part of a campaign to plug gaps in Kiev’s defenses.

But since the initiative was launched, only Berlin has decided to send a Patriot system to Ukraine from its arsenal.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg revealed that there are backup systems stored by alliance member states that were discovered after an internal audit.

Six European nations – Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain – operate the Patriot system.

Many of them argue that they cannot make them available to Kiev because of their own national or NATO defense plans.

But particular attention has fallen on Madrid and Athens because their systems are used to defend areas not currently considered high risk.

Three of Spain’s Patriots have been deployed to NATO’s southern flank, 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, which it claims are vital to security because of long-standing territorial disputes with Turkey, also a NATO member.

NATO officials believe Mediterranean countries should consider making Patriots available to Ukraine, as the systems used in Poland and Romania are more vital due to their proximity to the Russian border.

The White House announcement of the $1 billion arms transfer to Kiev made no mention of the Patriot deliveries.

Some European countries, including Sweden and the Netherlands, have suggested they could contribute funds to buy the systems if other governments are willing to transfer from their own reserves.

The Telegraph “Germany takes aim at Spain and Greece for not giving Ukraine Patriot missiles”