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War in Iran and fear of defending ourselves: US and Europe limit Patriot missiles, Ukraine at the mercy of fate

2026-08-11 23:26:45Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

War in Iran and fear of defending ourselves: US and Europe limit Patriot

Europe is scrambling to secure more Patriot interceptor missiles to give to Ukraine, which is rushing to bolster its ballistic missile defenses ahead of Russia's expected winter offensive.

Kiev is seeking hundreds of interceptor missiles, but new production will come too late. The war with Iran has limited U.S. supplies, and some of Ukraine's key European backers say they have few left they can safely donate, diplomatic sources told Politico.

"Over the past few months, Russia has been firing more missiles at us per week than we receive from our partners over months," former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said last week.

In July, Ukrainian air defenses intercepted only 29 out of 195 Russian ballistic missiles, while another 40 failed to reach their targets, Ukraine's defense ministry said.

Germany, one of Ukraine's main donors of military aid, has already transferred Patriot systems and missiles to Ukraine.

But Berlin must now balance Kiev's increasingly urgent needs with the minimum stockpiles required to defend Germany and meet its NATO commitments. Other European countries are also weighing whether to keep their interceptor missiles or give them to Ukraine.

“We are really reaching our limits here,” Brigadier General Jürgen Schrödl, a senior German defense ministry official, said on a panel in Berlin shortly after last month’s NATO summit in Ankara. “We also have to secure our own defense.”

Berlin and other Northern European capitals have asked their counterparts on the continent to consider what additional military equipment and financial support they can offer.

“I think it’s not sustainable for Europe in the long term,” Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik told POLITICO. “All European countries need to take steps forward.”

This is putting pressure on countries that have stockpiles of Patriot interceptor missiles, such as Poland, Spain and Greece. The shortage mainly concerns Patriot PAC-3 and PAC-2 missiles, which are among Ukraine's few effective defenses against fast-moving Russian ballistic missiles.

Ukraine could use other, often cheaper, air defense systems against drones and cruise missiles. The country is rushing to develop its own domestic Freyja interceptor, but the anti-ballistic system still requires investment, engineering work and testing before it can fulfill that role, senior officials told Politico.


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