(Bloomberg) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pressured other European Union leaders to send more Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine as Russia escalates missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure and urban centers.
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Speaking to reporters after an informal meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, Scholz said Germany will send a third Patriot system to Ukraine and another six will follow soon from other member states, which he did not identify.
“I hope that everyone will complete their opinion-forming process as quickly as possible, because time is also of the essence,” Scholz said. “We have heard that seven more are now due.”
In addition to the Patriot system, Germany will supply more IRIS-T and Skynex air defense systems to Kiev with the associated ammunition.
Germany has become Europe’s biggest supporter of Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Russia’s large-scale military invasion. Scholz has repeatedly urged fellow EU leaders to step up their support, especially as aid and arms deliveries from the US have been delayed.
Ukraine is struggling to fend off military pressure from Russia, despite a lack of ammunition and with a $61 billion US aid package stuck in Congress. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for more air defense systems to be sent to Ukraine, as Kremlin forces exploit the country’s weakness to step up missile attacks on power stations, the electrical grid and residential areas across the country.
Read more: Germany to give Ukraine a new Patriot anti-missile system
“The situation is very, very serious and we have to send them what they are asking for, which is ammunition and air defense,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told reporters earlier at the summit on Thursday. “We simply cannot afford for Ukraine to lose the war or for the entire security situation in Europe to be in grave danger.”
Germany has launched a call to rally Patriots for Ukraine and other air defense systems, including Samp/Ts, Nasams, Hawks and Iris-Ts.
In a joint letter sent to NATO allies this week and seen by Bloomberg, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said recent Russian attacks on vital energy infrastructure have caused greater destruction than in the winter of 2022. “Given the situation they face in Ukraine, it is a matter of great urgency,” they said of the aid.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also urged the Group of Seven ministers to act quickly on air defense in Ukraine, where the power system will be “destroyed” by Russian attacks now that the president Vladimir Putin ordered invasion enters its third year.
“Western countries, Japan, Canada, the US and Europe must make quicker decisions to support Ukraine more, because we cannot afford Putin’s victory,” Borrell said.
(Updates Scholz quote beginning in third paragraph.)
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