Israel, Ukraine, and USA in talks to transfer eight Patriot systems to Ukrainian military – FT
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The United States of America, Israel, and Ukraine are negotiating to supply Kyiv with eight Patriot air defense systems.
The Financial Times reports this with reference to five informed interlocutors.
According to the publication's sources, the agreement on the transfer of the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine was discussed among ministers and high-ranking officials of the three countries.
It should be noted that the relevant negotiations were conducted by Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, and the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken. Direct negotiations between Israel and Kyiv also took place.
According to the FT, the agreement is not yet final, but it probably provides that the Patriot will first be sent from Israel to the US and then delivered to Ukraine.
The FT source also noted that while the transfer of all eight systems is being discussed, not all of them may be sent to Ukraine.
The agreement will likely cover eight more than 30-year-old Patriot batteries, which Israel announced to decommission in April. The Israeli Air Force plans to decommission several anti-aircraft batteries of the MIM-104 Patriot complex over the next few months.
At the time, they emphasized that "it is currently unclear what will happen to the Patriot batteries, which are very necessary for Ukraine, which seeks to protect its skies from Russian missiles."
It is worth noting that these M901 PAC-2 systems are older than the PAC-3 currently in service in Ukraine.
However, analysts interviewed by the Financial Times indicate that PAC-2 is fully compatible with PAC-3. In addition, Israel has sufficient reserves of interceptor missiles for these systems, which have a more extended range and a larger warhead.
"This could make them well-suited for intercepting Russian fighter jets dropping devastating guided aerial bombs on Ukrainian cities and military positions from behind the front lines," the article emphasizes.
Ukraine has not confirmed the fact of negotiations yet.
"Ukraine continues to work with various countries of the world to obtain additional Patriot systems. We once again call on all countries with such systems to provide them to Ukraine," Kuleba said in an interview with the Financial Times.
The publication writes that in addition to the negotiations between the USA and Ukraine, there were also direct negotiations between Israel and Kyiv on the transfer of the Patriot.
For reference:
During a meeting headed by President Klaus Iohannis, the Supreme Council of National Defense of Romania approved the transfer of the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
Ukraine will also receive another Patriot anti-aircraft missile system, which the Netherlands will transfer together with another country.
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