Additional Patriot System from Germany to Protect Ukraine This Winter
Germany will deploy an additional air defence system, Patriot, in Ukraine this winter. It will complement the IRIS-T air defence system previously provided by Berlin. This was announced by German Ambassador to Ukraine Martin Jaeger in an interview with Ukrinform.
"The situation in winter can now become very difficult. The Ukrainian side has done everything possible to prepare for this situation, and we have helped with the preparations. I have already mentioned our support for air defence. In addition to the aforementioned IRIS-T systems, another Patriot system from Germany will be deployed here in winter," the diplomat said.
Currently, there are already four IRIS-T systems delivered from Germany in Ukraine, according to the diplomat.
Back in October, the German Ministry of Defence announced that it would send an additional Patriot system and IRIS-T system to Ukraine, but did not specify the time of their delivery.
In mid-November, Jaeger said that Germany would supply two more IRIS-T air defence systems to Ukraine by the end of the year.
In the interview, the ambassador also stressed that Germany has been supporting Ukraine militarily to a degree it had never done before.
Jaeger noted that Berlin is closely monitoring that the assistance provided by Germany is used for its intended purpose. "We have the impression that our Ukrainian partners are responsible for the support they receive from Germany," he said.
The diplomat also recalled that German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited Kyiv this week and promised another large aid package for the coming years. According to Jaeger, this package will help to strengthen air defence and provide additional artillery ammunition.
"In Germany, we are intensively discussing our support for Ukraine. A lot of people in our country are in favour of such support... We are discussing very intensively how we can support Ukraine even better in the future," said German Ambassador to Ukraine Martin Jaeger.
As The Gaze previously reported, a coalition for the development of Ukrainian air defence was announced during the 17th meeting of the Ramstein Coordination Group for Ukraine's Defence. This coalition is led by Germany and France.