(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Germany has agreed to supply Ukraine with approximately 600 Patriot PAC-2 interceptor missiles, providing a critical lifeline as the country faces relentless Russian ballistic missile attacks and a severe shortage of air defence munitions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the agreement with Berlin, which will see the older, less effective PAC-2 interceptors delivered between 2027 and 2028. The announcement came as Nordic and Baltic leaders gathered in Kyiv to mark Ukraine’s Flag Day and demonstrate continued support.
Norway pledged to maintain its support at approximately 9 billion US dollars (£7.1 billion) next year, backed by all parties in parliament.
Zelenskyy is also seeking to secure 300 PAC-3 interceptor missiles, but with US industrial output currently at 600 units annually, most of which are set aside for Washington’s conflict with Iran, that number may be out of reach.
France has agreed to speed up delivery of at least one of its domestically produced SAMP air defence systems this year, previously expected by 2027 at the earliest.
Ukraine faces a 27 billion dollar (£21.3 billion) defence budget deficit, according to Zelenskyy, caused by the allocation of funds towards drone production and other needs at the beginning of 2026.
The president is also urging the dispersal of 30 billion euros (£25.3 billion) from the EU’s 90 billion euro loan package for Kyiv. “We are supposed to receive 30 billion euros in European funds which we are awaiting. They are tied to the adoption of the relevant legislation,” Zelenskyy said.
Former US Ambassador to Ukraine William B. Taylor noted that the European Union has provided 90 billion euros in no interest loans that will only be repaid when Russia pays reparations. “Probably never,” he added.
The political situation in Ukraine remains tense, with former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov continuing to call for wartime elections. “Corruption prevents us from ending the war from a position of strength,” Fedorov said.
Zelenskyy opposes the idea, describing elections as “a tsunami for the state that will split Ukraine.”
Taylor said he has found no Ukrainians who want elections during wartime. “There are a million soldiers that would have a hard time voting and there are probably 4 million Ukrainians in other countries including Poland that would have a hard time voting as well as just trying to secure polling places from attacks by the Russians,” he said.
On Russia’s planned parliamentary elections in occupied territories, Taylor said they are “illegitimate elections” and “not real elections.”
Regarding Russian threats, Taylor said Putin’s only strategy is “to bombard the Ukrainians into submission and they won’t submit. They will not submit.”
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