Ukraine prepares contract for 25 Patriot systems

“In coordination with the relevant US services, we have held talks with defense companies on air defense and are preparing a contract for 25 Patriot systems. I think this is a very good story. It's not easy, but it's long-term,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He explained that there are a number of systems that are needed as quickly as possible, and in addition, there are those that are needed in the long term as a guarantee of security, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

The request for 25 Patriot systems came from the Ukrainian Air Force.

“The difficulty in obtaining these systems is the queue of countries that have signed the relevant contracts. We will receive these 25 systems annually, with different quantities in different years,” he added.

Zelensky noted that the White House could change the queue if there was political will to do so, but Ukraine understands which European countries could give this priority in the queue.

“Each of the European countries that are key members of NATO has its own systems, and there are also systems that belong to the US. This means that if everyone works together and there is goodwill, then it is precisely with these American systems that are in these European countries that the White House could help us to obtain them,” he said.

According to him, these air defense systems require appropriate funding. The president named money from the use of frozen Russian assets as the priority source of funding. However, other financial sources also need to be explored.

“We currently have 28 bilateral security agreements with other countries. Finding the funds and making advance payments is the task at hand, and it is realistic within the framework of these agreements,” Zelensky emphasized.

Photo: Interfax-Ukraine.