Ukraine’s allies are moving more U.S.-made air defenses toward Kyiv as Western officials increasingly prepare for Russia’s war to stretch into next year, its fifth anniversary.
Germany is among the countries drawing from existing inventories, while NATO is expected to purchase additional U.S.-made weapons.
Recent Russian ballistic strikes have added pressure to Ukraine’s already strained air defenses. Kyiv says its supply of interceptors is under pressure, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked allies for 300 Patriot missiles before winter.
Air defense becomes the urgent need
Allies laid out several of the new commitments Tuesday at a virtual Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting.
Germany plans to provide PAC-2 Patriot missiles from its own stocks. Bloomberg reported those interceptors have become scarce globally because of the U.S. war with Iran. Berlin separately announced it would send more AIM-9 missiles and several thousand IRIS-T guided missiles financed through a European Union loan to Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius acknowledged that sending more weapons presents difficult choices for allied governments. “If in doubt, decide in favor of Ukraine,” he said.
The Patriot deliveries are part of NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, known as PURL. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said allies have contributed $10 billion to the program, short of the $12 billion he has called for.
“We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine’s requirements to persist in the months and years ahead, and we must also be prepared for other plausible contingencies as well,” Elbridge Colby, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, said at Tuesday’s Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting.
EU clears path for Patriot purchases
Ukraine’s demand for Patriots has also changed how some European financing can be spent. Bloomberg reported EU members agreed to let Kyiv use money from a €90 billion loan for U.S.-made Patriot equipment.
Several governments had hoped the loan would steer more orders toward European weapons, including the SAMP/T air-defense system. Kyiv, however, has made Patriot interceptors a priority as Russian ballistic-missile attacks increase.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed Tuesday that member states had approved the exception for Patriot purchases.
The United Kingdom also announced a new £100 million commitment to the PURL program, with an undisclosed portion expected to support additional Patriot interceptors.
Diplomacy leaves the war’s timeline unchanged
The military planning comes as Western officials lower expectations for a near-term end to the fighting. European and U.S. officials told Bloomberg they are preparing for the possibility that the war will continue into 2027 after the latest round of American diplomacy failed to produce a significant shift in Moscow’s position.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met officials in Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend. Russian attacks resumed after a short pause surrounding the U.S. envoys’ visit.
The Kremlin offered a more positive account. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a “constructive and quite candid” phone call Tuesday about the meeting with Witkoff and Kushner.
According to the Kremlin, Trump told Putin that ending the war quickly could create opportunities to rebuild economic ties between Washington and Moscow.
Zelenskyy has said he hopes to meet with Trump in late September.
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