🕒 Created · Updated

Kaja Kallas leads EU defense ministers to discuss Ukraine's urgent need for Patriot interceptor missiles

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas led a meeting of defense ministers in Ireland to address Ukraine's critical shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles. During the talks, the administration announced that while Spain and Greece hold significant stocks of these missiles, both nations declined to provide immediate commitments to transfer them to Ukraine. Greece cited the need to maintain its own anti-air capacity to counter regional tensions with Turkey, while Spain had previously pledged military aid but remained cautious about its current stockpile. Kallas emphasized that Patriot missiles nearing the end of their shelf life should be sent to Ukraine to help defend against Russian airstrikes. The meeting also addressed Russia's increasingly kinetic hybrid attacks on European territory and the upcoming round of EU sanctions. Additionally, ministers discussed a new mission to provide peacekeepers for Lebanon following the withdrawal of UNIFIL. The administration announced that more than 10 EU states are prepared to contribute resources to this project. The EU is also considering whether to allow Ukraine to use its €90 billion support loan to purchase more Patriot missiles, with a vote scheduled for September 7.

Sources

Paywall and unreadable sources