Russia’s war against Ukraine – all developments

Ukraine has reinforced its demand for the delivery of German Patriot missile defense systems and also Western-style main battle tanks. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at the NATO heads of departments’ meeting in Bucharest on Wednesday that the defense systems were urgently needed to protect the civilian population against Russian missile attacks.

Kuleba announced that he would try to convince the federal government. “The message is simple: give us Patriots ASAP because these are the systems Ukraine needs to protect its civilian population and infrastructure.”

After a ricochet hit Poland in the middle of the month, the German government offered to make the Patriots available for air defense. The government in Warsaw then suggested delivering the systems to Ukraine straight away. The German government, in turn, rejects this with the reference that the systems are needed to defend NATO’s eastern flank in Poland. “These Patriots are part of NATO’s integrated air defense system, which means they are intended for NATO territory,” Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said last week. “If they are deployed outside of NATO territory, this must be discussed with NATO and the Allies beforehand.”