Greece and Spain do not send anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine and the German Foreign Ministry does not understand why

The race to send anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine has begun, but Greece and Spain will not participate in the missions, writes the Politco and explains.
Madrid will not deploy one of the three Patriots arrays it has in Ukraine, Spanish news agency El País reports, and is instead committed to sending only missiles that can be used in existing versions of the surface-to-air system.

While the extra firepower would be welcome, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country fell far short of having at least seven high-quality anti-aircraft missile arrays needed to protect cities and critical infrastructure from Russian attacks.
The allies had hoped Spain could be one of the donors as Kiev tries to fend off a full-scale invasion by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops.

Meanwhile, Athens is also refusing to promise a system, given its security concerns vis-à-vis Turkey. “Greece is not going to send S-300 or Patriot to Ukraine,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during an interview with domestic station Skai TV late Thursday night, according to Reuters, POLITICO writes.

In recent days, Greek media had reported that a swap deal might be possible, whereby the United States would agree to replace either a Patriot system based in Athens or an inactive Soviet-era S-300 system stationed in island of Crete so that they can be sent to Ukraine.

“We were asked and we explained why we can’t do it,” Mr. Mitsotakis said, explaining that the systems are “critical to our deterrent capability.”

Germany, which has promised Ukraine three Patriot arrays, has led the effort to pressure countries to donate their unused systems. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this week that he “expects” countries to make the pledge, adding that he “cannot understand” the refusal of countries such as Spain and Greece.

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