Ukraine has asked Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland to hand over ten per cent of their existing interceptor missiles for the Patriot and IRIS-T air-defence systems. Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhen Chmara said this, as reported by the Kyiv Post on Tuesday, 27 October.
Chmara wrote on Telegram that Ukraine had already concluded contracts for future deliveries of interceptor missiles. Kyiv therefore proposes an exchange: “The partners would provide part of their current stocks now, in return for the deliveries that are to arrive in Ukraine later.”
According to him, the Ukrainian armed forces urgently need additional man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS). “Ukraine is counting on financing for new procurements as well as on the transfer of systems from its partners’ existing stocks,” Chmara said. He added that Ukraine could double its drone production by 2027 if the financing came in time. According to him, Kyiv is proposing not only higher procurements but also an expansion of joint production of Ukrainian drones abroad. “We propose not only to increase procurement but also to expand joint production of Ukrainian drones in other countries,” the minister said. This approach would help Ukraine obtain the drones it needs and at the same time strengthen the defence capabilities of the partner countries.
After a meeting in Paris with the defence ministers of Britain, France, Italy and Poland, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the participating countries had already prepared winter aid packages for Ukraine. “Beyond that, we will do everything in our power so that the United States continues to support Ukraine – through its own deliveries and above all through the provision of intelligence and satellite data,” Pistorius said. European countries were working with Kyiv on an air-defence system, he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was preparing intensified attacks on large Ukrainian cities. Senior Ukrainian officials told The Economist that Moscow planned to paralyse Kyiv before colder weather sets in in order to destabilise the political situation. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had ordered attacks on civilian infrastructure across the capital, the officials said. Ukrainian officials told the Financial Times that Moscow wanted to increase pressure on Kyiv to force Ukraine to accept Russian demands by early 2027, including the cession of territory in the Donbas.
Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine would again raise the issue of delayed deliveries of air-defence missiles with the United States. Kyiv has been waiting for almost a month for Defence Minister Pete Hegseth to approve missiles for Patriot and NASAMS systems. He had instructed his team to raise the matter again in Washington. Ukraine is also seeking PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptor missiles from EU countries and other partners with existing stocks. According to earlier statements, Zelensky had received only 24 Patriot interceptor missiles from the US within 90 days, although around 350 are needed each month. He also asked European partners for 300 interceptor missiles for the winter; however, efforts to obtain missiles from existing stocks met with resistance, including in Greece.
Air Force representative Yurii Ihnat said missiles used in the Middle East could have supplied Ukraine’s Patriot systems for several years. Ukrainian crews had developed more efficient tactics and usually use one interceptor missile per target, often from an ambush and with rapid repositioning. Air-defence forces in the Middle East, by contrast, reportedly fired up to eight interceptor missiles at a single target, including at relatively cheap Shahed drones. Zelensky also called for faster implementation of the expected decisions to support Ukrainian air defence; officials were preparing the next Ramstein-format meeting in November. “Every support package is a chance to protect human lives,” he said.
