Romania to send Patriot missile system to Ukraine

Romania to send Patriot missile system to Ukraine
by AFP Staff Writers
Bucharest (AFP) June 20, 2024

NATO member Romania announced Thursday that it would send a Patriot missile system to Ukraine, as the White House said the United States will prioritise deliveries of anti-air missiles to Kyiv to help battle Russia's invasion.

While Kyiv is calling for more Patriot missile systems, most NATO countries have been reluctant to send them because they want to protect their own airspace.

"Considering the significant deterioration of the security situation in Ukraine... council members decided to donate a Patriot system to Ukraine in close coordination with allies," Romania's Supreme Council of National Defence said in a statement.

The donation was made "on the condition that our country continues negotiations with allies, in particular the US, with a view to obtaining a similar or equivalent system" to protect its own airspace, it added.

The eastern European country, which borders Ukraine, also needed "a temporary solution to cover the operational vulnerability thus created", it added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Romania's "principled support".

"This crucial contribution will bolster our air shield and help us better protect our people and critical infrastructure from Russian air terror," he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said he welcomed Romania's decision to provide a "much-needed" Patriot system to Ukraine.

Germany recently announced it would transfer a third Patriot air-defence system to Ukraine, while the United States is expected to send a second battery to Kyiv, according to US media reports.

Separately, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Thursday said the United States would "reprioritise" deliveries of desperately needed anti-air missiles to Ukraine, ahead of other countries that have placed orders.

Deliveries to Taiwan -- which is preparing for a possible invasion by China -- and Israel, which faced a large-scale missile and drone attack by Iran earlier this year and is fighting a war against Hamas, will not be affected by the decision, he added.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis indicated an openness to help Kyiv with a Patriot system at the beginning of May, after meeting US counterpart Joe Biden in Washington.

But he warned it was "unacceptable to leave Romania without air defences".

Romania signed a $4-billion deal for seven Patriot batteries with the United States in 2017, the biggest defence acquisition in its history.

Two of the four systems it has received so far are fully operational.

Romania has been providing military help to Kyiv in the war with Russia, but has refused to reveal the scale of the support, citing security concerns.

It has also pledged to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 jets in a regional hub inaugurated in November 2023, although the timeline for that programme remains unclear.

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