EU countries propose funding source for US air defence missiles for Ukraine
The Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Denmark and Poland have urged the European Commission to approve the purchase of US-made missiles for some of Ukraine's air defence systems as soon as possible.
Source: European Pravda
Details: In a letter addressed to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius, the defence ministers of the nine countries said the missiles should be purchased using the defence component of the €90 billion in EU support allocated to Ukraine for 2026-2027.
Quote: "Looking ahead, Ukraine is currently preparing the next USL product schedules for key capability areas, including air defence, air munitions and long-range fires, artillery ammunition, electronic warfare and explosives. During the recent expert meeting and the FAC/DEF, Ukraine clearly stated that there are urgent needs for which there is no EU alternative or that European industries cannot accommodate in a timely fashion."
Details: The ministers specified that Ukraine's urgent needs include PAC-3, AIM-120, ATACMS, ADM-160 MALD and AGM-88 HARM missiles.
Quote: "In this joint letter, we as Defence Ministers underline our shared commitment to ensuring that Ukraine receives the military support it urgently needs. To that end, we continue to stress that the swift approval of product schedules is crucial, including through the pragmatic use of the derogation for the purchase of materiel produced by third countries as provided for in the Regulation."
Details: The nine EU countries therefore called on the European Commission "not to wait for the completion of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base mapping exercise, nor to ask Ukraine to provide additional market studies, before approving the mentioned product schedules".
"Making full use of the available instruments will help maintain momentum and enable Ukraine to obtain urgently needed capabilities without unnecessary delay. This will help keep Ukraine in the fight and support it in protecting human lives," the defence ministers said.
Background:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that securing interceptor missiles for Patriot air defence systems would be the key issue in his discussions with Kyiv's partners at the NATO summit, stressing that the missiles can be obtained from countries other than the United States.
- Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has sent letters to nearly 40 partner countries urging them to hand over Patriot missiles from their existing stockpiles to Ukraine as early as this month.
- Ukraine submitted more than 250 contracts worth €6 billion under the first tranche of the defence component of the EU's €90 billion loan to the European Commission too late, and as a result received only €3.9 billion on 30 June.
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