‘Cannot compromise own defence’: Germany rules out further Patriot supplies to Ukraine

Germany can no longer provide Ukraine with additional Patriot air defence systems or interceptor missiles without compromising its own national security, defence minister Boris Pistorius has said, urging other allies to step up military support as Kyiv faces mounting Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure ahead of winter.Speaking to German magazine Focus, Pistorius said Berlin had reached the limit of what it could transfer from its military stockpiles after supplying Ukraine with several Patriot batteries and ammunition packages since Russia's full-scale invasion.“Everything we provide now, we would not be able to replenish for the time being; this would lead to gaps in our own defence for which we cannot take responsibility. More is not possible right now,” he said.Pistorius said other international partners would have to shoulder a greater share of the responsibility for supplying Ukraine with advanced air defence systems and interceptor missiles. The issue is expected to feature prominently at the next Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting, to be held in the Ramstein format in mid-November.The warning comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeks urgent supplies of Patriot missiles to protect the country's energy infrastructure during the winter months.In an interview with Fox News, Zelenskyy said Kyiv was prepared to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow stopped striking Ukraine's energy facilities. He also proposed that the US provide Ukraine with a one-month supply of Patriot interceptors, saying Kyiv was willing to purchase the missiles rather than receive them as military aid.“We said that if you want us not to attack Russia's refineries, they must not attack our energy system,” Zelenskyy said, adding that he had raised the proposal with US President Donald Trump and his team.“Give us this package. We need the package, and you can give us for one month, not for three months,” he said.Zelenskyy has also proposed a mechanism to borrow between 10 and 30 Patriot interceptors from the operational stockpiles of partner countries, with guarantees that the missiles would be replaced once new supplies arrive from the US.The proposal follows the Trump administration's approval on October 30 of a possible $2.1 billion sale of 500 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors to Ukraine. However, the newly manufactured missiles are not expected to begin arriving until after 2030, meaning they would not address Kyiv's immediate requirements for the coming winter.The urgency stems from an intensifying Russian campaign against Ukraine's power infrastructure. Ukrainian government figures cited by Kyiv Post indicate that Russian tactical and strategic aircraft carried out more than 30 coordinated strikes on electricity generation facilities and high-voltage substations in the final two weeks of October alone.Zelenskyy has said Ukraine needs at least 100 PAC-3 interceptors every month to build an effective air defence shield against ballistic missile attacks targeting power grids, heating networks and densely populated areas.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.