The administration of US President Donald Trump is reviewing the schedule for the transfer of Patriot air defense systems to enable Germany to promptly transfer two complexes to Ukraine. Under this aid scheme, allies transfer their weapons now and then receive replacements from the US, The Wall Street Journal reports, writes UNN.
The Trump administration has moved Germany ahead of Switzerland in the supply of the next Patriot air defense systems from the production line, paving the way for Berlin to send two existing Patriot missiles to Ukraine
Details
According to the publication, more agreements between the US and its allies on the release of additional weapons are likely to be concluded within the next week.
On Monday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is to contact other NATO defense leaders to discuss aid to Kyiv, the publication writes. A separate meeting on Wednesday, involving countries that own Patriot, will be held by General Alexus Grinkevich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and head of the European Command.
"The timelines for new production are years, but Ukraine needs these capabilities now," said Alina Polyakova, head of the analytical Center for European Policy Analysis.
"As new countries agree to send Patriots from their arsenals to Ukraine, the Trump administration will further reallocate planned future deliveries, prioritizing these allies," a senior US official told WSJ.
"The Trump administration is seeking to negotiate individual agreements with members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine," according to a senior US official.
The US Department of Defense, as indicated, will oversee these efforts. These agreements, as indicated, will go beyond Patriot and will include offensive and defensive weapons that NATO countries will provide to Ukraine and then buy back from the US.
The WSJ emphasizes that in particular the US promise to quickly replace German Patriots (with American ones - ed.) is the first time the Pentagon has facilitated arms supplies to Ukraine since Trump announced earlier this month that he supports sending more weapons.
But the move, the publication notes, also highlighted the difficulties in supplying Patriot and other weapons to Ukraine, as Western defense production lines struggle to keep up with Ukraine's requests for help in defending its cities and frontline forces from intensifying Russian missile and drone attacks.
Addition
Currently, Ukraine has only a few Patriot systems donated by the US and other countries, and is looking for more to repel Russian attacks. Each Patriot, built by RTX, formerly Raytheon, consists of several launchers, a radar, a command and control element, and interceptor missiles.
"Germany, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, Canada, and Finland have already committed to supporting this initiative," a NATO representative said.
Other European countries may join in helping Ukraine once the details of the plan are agreed upon, according to several senior European officials.