Germany helps procure scarce air-defence missiles for Ukraine

BERLIN – German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has persuaded several European partners to club together to provide around 30 PAC-3 guided missiles for Ukraine’s Patriot air-defence systems to bolster dwindling stocks.

Together with five additional units from the German armed forces, roughly 35 interceptor missiles will be delivered to Ukraine as soon as possible, according to people familiar with the planning, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

The German defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the plans, which were first reported by magazine Der Spiegel.

Ukraine’s ammunition supplies are coming under increasing pressure following months of intense Russian attacks.

At the same time, European officials are concerned that the high volume of munitions being used in the US and Israeli strikes on Iran could have an impact on American stockpiles and Washington’s sales of weapons to the government in Kyiv.

The US and its partners in the Gulf region have most likely burned through more than 1,000 PAC-3 interceptors since the air campaign against Iran began more than a week ago, putting strain on supplies and raising questions about whether more could be sent to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that his country had received about 600 PAC-3s since Russia invaded in 2022, fewer than the number produced by Lockheed Martin Corp in 2025.

Mr Pistorius proposed during a meeting in February that Germany would provide five PAC-3 missiles from Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine if other countries together supplied 30 additional missiles.

The Netherlands and several other nations made non-binding commitments and those have now been confirmed, meaning that the package can be delivered, the people said. BLOOMBERG