Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian air defense has received new reinforcement with Patriot systems. According to him, this became possible thanks to the support of Germany and personally Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The head of state announced this on his Telegram channel, writes UNN.
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In a statement published on Telegram, Zelenskyy emphasized that strengthening the air defense system is a joint achievement of Ukrainian and German partners.
We have strengthened the "Patriot" component in our Ukrainian air defense. I thank Germany and personally Chancellor Friedrich Merz for this joint step to protect lives from Russian terror.
The President noted that agreements on the transfer and deployment of additional elements of the system had been prepared for a long time, and now their implementation has been completed.
For some time, we have been preparing this strengthening of air defense, and now the agreements reached have been fulfilled. Thank you to everyone who helped!
He stressed that Russian air strikes remain the main instrument of the Kremlin's aggression: "Russian air strikes are Putin's main bet in this war. It is through terror that he wants to compensate for his inability to achieve his goals on the ground."
According to the president, every strengthening of Ukrainian air defense "literally brings us closer to ending the war," because effective air defense reduces Russia's capabilities and pushes it to seek ways to end the war.
Zelenskyy also announced that Ukraine, together with its partners, continues to build an integrated air defense system: "Our capabilities will be able to guarantee security not only to Ukraine, but also to our partners when needed. Our security is indivisible, our air defense must protect all of us."
He added that negotiations on further steps to expand the Patriot system and supply additional air defense assets are ongoing – both at the government level and directly with manufacturers.