Romanian Govt Approves Transfer of Patriot System to Ukraine

The Romanian government on Monday approved a bill allowing the free transfer of the Patriot air defence system to Ukraine and sent it to parliament for consideration.

Reuters reports.

In June, Bucharest announced that it would transfer one of its two operational Patriots to Ukraine, provided that the allies replace it with a similar air defence system.

It is noted that the Romanian Patriot is part of the supply of five such systems and other strategic air defence equipment that NATO countries have promised to provide to Ukraine.

‘After the parliament passes the law, the government will be able to approve a decision that will make this assistance real,’ said Romanian government spokesman Mihai Constantin.

In 2017, Romania signed a $4 billion deal with the United States to buy seven Patriot systems. The first batch was delivered in 2020. So far, Romania has received four systems, two of which are already in operation.

Romania, which has been a NATO member since 2004, shares a 650-kilometre border with Ukraine, and the wreckage of Russian drones has repeatedly fallen on its territory as Russia attacks Ukrainian ports on the Danube River.

As The Gaze previously reported, in July, the Presidents of Ukraine and Romania, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Klaus Iohannis, signed an agreement on security cooperation between the countries, which stipulates, among other things, that Romania will transfer the Patriot system to Ukraine.

‘I am grateful to Romania and President Klaus Iohannis for the decision to provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defence system,’ Zelenskyy said at the time.