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BERLIN — The German government says it’s already in talks with countries over fresh air defense pledges for Ukraine, as Berlin mulls bolstering its own stocks of U.S.-made Patriot missile systems.
Germany’s foreign and defense ministers last week launched the Immediate Action on Air Defense (IAAD) initiative — first reported by POLITICO — and sent a letter to allies calling on governments to find and finance more air defense systems for Kyiv as Russia continues to pummel Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
Following a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on Friday, Germany said there was already interest in the scheme. At the meeting, allied defense ministers discussed further support for Kyiv hours before legislators in Washington finally backed plans for a fresh $61 billion U.S. aid package.
The German defense ministry said that Denmark and the Netherlands are in discussions over financial support for IAAD. “Several other partners have also agreed to intensively examine whether they can also supply systems or provide resources,” the ministry added.
While the German government has come under fire for refusing to donate Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv, it has instead sought to increase provisions of air defense systems.
In March, Berlin confirmed a €1.3 billion order for four new Patriot surface-to-air missile systems, partly to replace the two sent to Kyiv already. Earlier this month, Germany then pledged a third Patriot system, while on Saturday Bloomberg reported that Berlin is mulling a further order with manufacturer Raytheon.
By also requesting financial pledges under the IAAD initiative, Berlin is mimicking a program launched by the Czech Republic — also first reported by POLITICO — to jointly finance the purchase of artillery ammunition on the world market for onward delivery to Ukraine.
That ammunition program has raised hundreds of millions of euros so far, with Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands amongst the major contributors.
Over recent weeks, however, Russia has shown its artillery supremacy with a series of bombardments on Ukrainian cities.
Addressing NATO defense ministers on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his armed forces needed at least seven Patriot or other advanced systems to mount a credible defense against Russian strikes.
In addition to Patriot missile systems, the German initiative also covers locally produced alternatives such as SAMP/T, NASAMS, HAWK, IRIS-T or S-300 air defense systems.
“Russia is trying to destroy Odesa, Ukraine’s economic lifeline, and [Kharkiv], its industrial and technology hub,” the original letter sent to allies by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.
“Russia takes advantage of current gaps in Ukraine’s air defense,” the letter states. “It is up to us to help Ukraine defend itself against this murderous onslaught.”
