Pistorius Presses U.S. for Patriot Replacement Guarantees Following Ukraine Pledge
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is urging the United States to provide binding assurances that any Patriot air defense systems donated to Ukraine will be swiftly replaced.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Tagesschau.
In a recent interview with German media, Pistorius emphasized that NATO must clearly convey to the U.S. and its defense contractors that any country transferring these high-value systems to Kyiv must receive replacements within a matter of months.
“This commitment must be unequivocal,” Pistorius stressed.
He also revealed that he held “intensive talks” last week with executives at the U.S. manufacturing firm responsible for the Patriots and succeeded in securing further acceleration in both production and delivery schedules.
Pistorius warned that Germany must be able to fulfill its obligations to NATO without compromising its own national security or that of its allies. “There can be no dangerous gaps,” he added.
On July 22, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that his country had not yet received confirmation of the timing of when the U.S. would be able to transfer Patriot systems to Berlin to replace those sent to Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Pistorius announced at the opening of the 29th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group that Germany and the United States had agreed to supply Ukraine with five Patriot systems. The two countries are now close to finalizing the deal.
Read more on The Gaze: 29th Ramstein Meeting: What Ukraine’s Partners Pledged This Time