Zelenskyy urges partners to provide air defence missiles from NATO stockpiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly called on partner countries to supply air defence missiles from existing stockpiles, while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that such work is already underway.

Source: Zelenskyy during a joint press conference with Rutte in Kyiv, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy, citing Ukraine's growing need for interceptors for its air defence systems, said partner states could do more by providing available missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This effort is not intended to replace funding for the PURL programme, used for arms procurement from the United States, but should complement it, the president stated. "We continue to work together with Mark and all partners to maintain Euro-Atlantic cooperation," he added, referring to NATO plans to fund PURL.

"But what is currently in our partners' stockpiles must actually work to protect [Ukrainian airspace]," Zelenskyy emphasised.

Rutte said that many countries, including Türkiye, Norway, Canada and Spain, are reviewing their stockpiles to determine what they can provide to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including A120 and A9X air-to-air missiles as well as PAC missiles for Patriot systems, which are critical for Ukraine's air-defence.

Background:

• Rutte also stated that European countries will allocate over US$15 billion for arms purchases for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
• Prior to his visit to Kyiv, Rutte also called on EU countries that "are sitting on large piles of interceptors" to transfer these missiles to Ukraine.
• Supply disruptions remain a sensitive issue for Kyiv, and Zelenskyy said that he had grounds for making his critical statements against Europe after a lack of funding led to a shortage of air defence missiles.

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