Sept 8 (Reuters) – Germany will send Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine from its national stocks, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday, warning that Russia was likely to intensify its air campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure as winter approaches.
Speaking at a videoconference of nations supporting Ukraine, Pistorius said he had decided to “deliver urgently” additional PAC-2 interceptor missiles.
Patriot missiles are currently the only effective defence against Russian ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine, officials say.
“Since Russia is only advancing very slowly at the front line, it is trying to destroy Ukraine’s economic base and critical infrastructure by way of air raids on port installations, power plants, and other civilian targets,” Pistorius said.
“Unfortunately, we can expect Russian air raids to increase again once temperatures drop, and then the damage will be even greater,” he told the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.
Pistorius did not say how many missiles Germany would provide.
He said Germany would also expand deliveries of air-to-air missiles and continue supplying drones and long-range ammunition to Kyiv.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said Kyiv is contracting to buy around 1,000 Patriot missiles but most would only be shipped in the coming years. He urged allies to dig into their stocks for Ukraine now, on the basis that Kyiv would replace those missiles from future deliveries.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also pressed allies to increase support, saying civilian casualties from the war were at their highest level since May 2022.
“Nations must dig deeper. We do not have a choice,” he said.
Ahead of the meeting, Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said EU members states had agreed to use part of a €90-billion ($105 billion) EU loan to allow Ukraine to buy crucial supplies for Patriot systems.
($1 = 0.8603 euros)
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Andrew Gray)
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