Spain says will send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine
by AFP Staff Writers
Madrid (AFP) April 26, 2024
Spain will send US-made Patriot air defence missile systems to Ukraine, which has asked for more military equipment to resist Russian attacks, Defence Minister Margarita Robles said Friday.

Madrid will supply "a set of long-range Patriot anti-aircraft interceptor missiles", Robles told a ministerial meeting of the so-called contact group for the defence of Ukraine, the defence ministry said in a statement.

It did not specify how many missiles Spain would provide.

This month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told NATO members that his country needed a minimum of seven Patriot or other high-end air defence systems to counter Russian air strikes, urging them to step up their military assistance for Kyiv.

European Union foreign and defence ministers vowed at a meeting on Monday to maintain their aid to Ukraine, but without committing to the delivery of air defence equipment.

Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares avoided answering repeated questions about whether Madrid would send Patriot units to Ukraine.

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