EU agrees to allocate €3.2bn for Patriot missiles for Ukraine
EU member states have agreed to purchase €3.2 billion worth of US-made interceptor missiles for Ukraine's Patriot air defence systems under the EU's €90 billion loan.
Source: European Pravda, citing EU sources and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on social media
Quote from Von der Leyen: "Together with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, I welcome the agreement by Member States on the derogation for Ukraine to purchase crucial products for Patriot air defence systems."
Details: Preparatory work to allocate €3.2 billion to Ukraine for Patriot interceptors is expected to be completed by the end of the week.
According to von der Leyen, the payment "will enable Ukraine to better protect its skies from Russia's indiscriminate attacks".
"This comes on top of €8.4 billion already disbursed under the Ukraine Support Loan, including for air defence," she said.
Sources in the EU told European Pravda that the political decision has been made. The technical work required to release the funds is expected to be completed by 11 September.
Background:
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen previously said that Ukraine had submitted a request to the European Commission to use several billion euros from the €90 billion loan to purchase PAC-3 missiles for Patriot air defence systems.
- Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, also said that during the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Wicklow, Ireland, on 2 September, several EU member states made new commitments to provide Ukraine with interceptor missiles.
- On 8 September, it became known that the UK is allocating £100 million (US$135 million) for a package of air-defence equipment for Ukraine ahead of winter under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, including missiles for Patriot systems.
- UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said earlier that European leaders are considering another meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in the US on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September to discuss the supply of Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine.
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