Patriot SAM launcher (Photo: Dominika Zarzycka / NurPhoto via Reuters)
The European Commission will lobby EU countries that still
have significant stocks of Patriot
interceptor missiles to transfer them to Ukraine, Euronews reported
on Aug. 31, citing unnamed EU officials.
The officials said the transfer of some of the missile
stocks is expected to be discussed Sept. 1 at an EU defense ministers’ meeting
in Ireland.
“Spain and Greece, in particular, are expected to come under
pressure at a defence meeting on Tuesday in County Wicklow, Ireland, to provide
some of their stocks,” the report added.
According to Euronews, the European External Action Service
is also negotiating with South Korea and Japan about transferring Patriot
interceptors to Ukraine. However, European officials fear tensions between both
countries and China could hinder the effort.
On Aug. 5, the Financial Times reported that U.S.
President Donald Trump had rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s
request to provide Ukraine with several hundred Patriot interceptor missiles.
Trump reportedly said U.S. stocks were limited and that Washington needed the
interceptors to protect its assets in the Middle East from Iranian attacks.
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