EU pressures Spain and Greece to hand over Patriot missiles to Ukraine

NATO and EU countries are increasing pressure on Spain and Greece to hand over additional interceptor missiles for Patriot systems to Ukraine. Kyiv urgently needs to replenish its air defense ammunition stocks amid intensifying Russian air attacks.

This is reported by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the negotiations. The allies are primarily interested in the PAC-2 missiles for Patriot systems held by Madrid and Athens.

According to the agency, such requests were sent to Spain and Greece over the summer. Among the options under consideration is a scheme in which Norway could buy some of the missiles and then transfer them to Ukraine.

Spain and Greece have some of the largest stocks of Patriot interceptors among Ukraine's European allies. Additionally, some of these missiles are approaching the end of their designated service life, which has become an additional argument for those advocating their transfer to Kyiv.

Issue to be discussed by EU ministers

Supplying additional air defense assets to Ukraine is to be one of the topics at meetings of EU defense and foreign ministers to be held on September 1–2 in Ireland.

Representatives of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland are also expected to join the discussions. No formal decisions may be made after the meeting, but European officials hope to use the talks to seek additional missile stocks.

The need for new supplies has become especially acute due to the dwindling Ukrainian stocks of interceptors. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously stated that Ukraine needs about 300 Patriot missiles to protect against Russian attacks and get through the upcoming winter period.

Greece reluctant to part with its Patriots

Greece has previously resisted allies' calls to transfer its available Patriot assets to Ukraine. Athens explains its position by the need to maintain a sufficient level of its own air defense amid years-long disputes with Turkey.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has publicly confirmed that the country did not agree to transfer one of its six Patriot units, as these systems are needed to protect Greek airspace.

At the same time, Greece was among the states that began providing ammunition to Ukraine soon after the full-scale Russian invasion.

Spain, for its part, announced that it will provide Ukraine with military aid worth 1 billion euros in 2026. However, the allies hope to receive additional Patriot interceptors from Madrid.

Europe itself is short of Patriot missiles

The search for munitions is complicated by an overall shortage of Patriots. The United States has significantly tapped into its own stocks of these missiles during the war with Iran, and European countries are wary of excessively reducing their own arsenals.

Production of new missiles also cannot quickly cover the emerging shortfall. Both Patriot systems and European SAMP/T systems face long delivery queues and limited production capacity.

Some new air defense assets are expected to reach Ukraine in the coming months through the PURL mechanism, which allows NATO allies to procure American weapons for Kyiv.

At the same time, within the EU there are discussions about whether to allow Ukraine to use funds from a 90 billion euro European loan to purchase additional Patriot missiles. However, France and Italy argue that some of this money should be directed towards the European SAMP/T system. EU states are to continue discussing this issue in early September.