Hello and welcome to the details of Spain to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine, El Pais reports and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Serviceman patrols in front of the Patriot air defence system during Polish military training on the missile systems at the airport in Warsaw February 7, 2023. — Reuters pic
MADRID, April 26 — Spain will send a small number of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, El Pais newspaper reported today, in response to pressure from EU and Nato allies to send more military aid to Kyiv.
With Russia having stepped up air attacks on Ukraine, EU governments have been urged to supply more protective systems to Kyiv, especially countries like Greece and Spain that have such arms in their arsenal.
Greece said yesterday it would not be able to provide air defence systems to Ukraine.
Advertisement
El Pais, quoting unidentified government sources, said today that Spain had ruled out delivering Patriot anti-aircraft launchers but it would supply the Ukrainian military with missiles for the system.
“The transfer of a small number of missiles has come after the defence ministry refused to hand over to Ukraine the battery it has had deployed since 2013 on the Turkish-Syrian border,” El Pais said.
“It will be a very limited number, as the Spanish war reserve is around 50 units and interceptors are very expensive.”
Advertisement
The defence ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the report but yesterday, a Spanish diplomatic told foreign reporters that Madrid needed to step up its commitment to Ukraine.
Spain has three batteries which it purchased second-hand from Germany in 2004 and 2014, El Pais said.
A Patriot air missile system is fired during a live fire exercise in the annual joint military exercises between US and Philippine troops called "Balikatan" or shoulder-to-shoulder, at a naval base in San Antonio, Zambales province, Philippines, April 25, 2023. — Reuters pic
Earlier this month, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Nato members that Ukraine needed a minimum of seven Patriot or other high-end air defence systems to counter Russian air strikes, urging them to step up their military assistance for Kyiv.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday night Greece could not offer air defence systems like Patriots or S-300 to Ukraine. Germany already promised to deliver one Patriot air defence system to Ukraine and called on Nato allies to deliver the other six.
In an interview in Skai TV, Mitsotakis said: “We were asked and we explained why we cannot do it,” Mitsotakis said, adding that these systems are “critical to our deterrent capability”.
Defence is a very sensitive issue for Athens given its rivalry with Turkiye.
On Monday, European Union ministers said they were looking at how to provide more air defences to Ukraine but they stopped short of concrete pledges of the Patriot systems that Kyiv values most.
The United States will host today a virtual meeting of Ukraine international aid donors, days after Congress emerged from a half-year of deadlock to approve a US$61 billion (RM290 billion) aid package for Ukraine. — Reuters
These were the details of the news Spain to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine, El Pais reports for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.
It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.
