Ukrainian president discusses accelerating his country's acquisition of Patriot missiles after $2.1 billion US deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he is discussing mechanisms to accelerate his country's acquisition of Patriot air defense missiles, following the United States' approval to sell 500 missiles to Ukraine, in a deal worth about $2.1 billion.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his visit to Turkey, Zelensky said that his country is looking into the possibility of obtaining missiles from partner countries under the loan system, provided that those countries are compensated with missiles from the US shipment after their arrival.

He explained that Kyiv intends to conclude arrangements that allow the missiles provided by partner countries to be replaced with missiles from the US deal in the future, allowing Ukraine to benefit from these missiles before the start of US deliveries.

The US State Department approved a deal on Friday to sell 500 Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine, worth about $2.1 billion, while US sources said Germany, Canada and Norway would contribute to financing the deal.

Zelenskyy noted that deliveries under the new deal could take several years, stressing the importance of reaching temporary arrangements to strengthen Ukraine's air defense capabilities in the coming period.

The Patriot air defense systems are particularly effective at countering ballistic missiles, which Russia has repeatedly used during its war against Ukraine.

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