"Germany has significantly contributed to Ukraine's air defense. We have transferred more than one-third of our total patriot systems in inventory to Ukraine. Further aid is impossible as Germany itself awaits replacement shipments," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on 27/1.

Minister Pistorius added that Germany is also the sole provider of iris-t air defense systems to Ukraine and has continuously supplied ammunition, but this is insufficient as Russia escalates attacks. "It would be better if other parties could seek and provide more support to Ukraine," he said.

A patriot launcher of the German army. Photo: German Ministry of Defense

A patriot launcher of the German army. Photo: German Ministry of Defense

Germany has provided tens of billions of USD in aid to Ukraine since the conflict began, transferring many of its most modern weapons, including leopard 2 main battle tanks, patriot and iris-t air defense missile systems, and pzh 2000 self-propelled howitzers.

Patriot is the most expensive weapon system provided by the US and its allies to Ukraine. Each system costs nearly 1,1 billion USD, with missiles costing 690 million USD and other components approximately 400 million USD. Ukraine's patriot systems are equipped with the most modern us-made pac-3 mse missiles, which have a maximum range of 120 km against aircraft and 60 km against ballistic missiles.

Ukraine has repeatedly praised the effectiveness of patriot systems, emphasizing they are the only weapon capable of countering Russia's kinzhal hypersonic and iskander-m tactical ballistic missiles.

However, the interception rate of patriot systems in Ukraine is declining due to missile depletion, while many batteries have also been attacked and destroyed by Russia. Moscow has also continuously upgraded its iskander-m ballistic missiles, making patriot systems less effective than Kyiv desires.

After months of continuous attacks, some patriot systems have been damaged or completely destroyed, significantly weakening Ukraine's air defense network. Statistics from 10/2025 showed Ukraine appeared to have only five operational systems, with the specific number of radars and launchers unclear.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense on 1/1 announced the deployment of two additional patriot air defense systems newly received from Germany, part of a military aid package announced in 8/2025.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on 25/1 stated Russia launched over 3,000 glide bombs, unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs), and missiles into Ukraine in one week. "That is why we constantly need daily replenishment of air defense missiles, and continued cooperation with the US and Europe to better protect our skies," he said.

Nguyen Tien (According to AFP, AP, Zeit)