US Deputy Defense Secretary Elbridge Colby told European countries they “must not relax” their remilitarization and support for Ukraine at a virtual meeting aimed at providing Kyiv with 300 Patriot interceptors.
An influential Pentagon official praised Ukraine’s recent “resilient defense,” which he said proved Europe is capable of leading its continent’s defense against Russian aggression rather than relying on the United States.
“Supporting Ukraine contributes to European security,” Colby said at the start of a virtual meeting of the 50-nation Contact Group on Ukraine, appearing to reflect a warmer U.S. tone on Ukraine.
This helped, he continued, “to restore Europe’s military strength and industrial capacity. But words are not enough. Real money and industrial capacity must be brought to bear. Again, I emphasize that this is happening, but we must not relax.”
Under the leadership of its President Donald Trump, the United States is insisting that Europe sharply increase defense spending and pay for the delivery of American weapons such as Patriot interceptors to Kyiv under a scheme created by NATO.
Even before the meeting began, the UK announced it had committed £100 million to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses over the winter, buying a package of US military equipment that would include desperately needed Patriot missiles.
Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, pledged in his opening remarks that Berlin would donate some older Patriot Pac-2 interceptors from its army stockpile and called on Ukraine’s other allies to follow suit.
Ukraine is currently unable to prevent Russian ballistic missile attacks due to a shortage of Patriot interceptors, leading to attacks that killed civilians and destroyed food and logistics warehouses over the summer.
Wes Streeting, Britain’s defense secretary, said Ukraine was “pretty clear” about what it needed: “three hundred Patriot missiles from partners’ stockpiles, 500 air-to-air interceptors with cruise missile capability, $2 billion for drones” and ongoing contributions to other schemes.
The UK has not said how many Patriots it will be able to buy, but the number is likely to be a fraction of the desired number given that each interceptor is estimated to cost around $3 million.
The newly appointed Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevgen Hamarra admitted that in Ukraine “the situation with ballistics is much more complicated” and that this is “precisely because of the shortage of Patriot missiles.” He added that this is a situation that the Kremlin is aware of and is trying to exploit.
after promoting the newsletter
The Ukrainian minister also said that Ukraine faces a defense budget deficit of 23 billion euros this year and he hoped that countries would provide more funds so that its drone investment program could continue uninterrupted. Kyiv hopes the EU will provide part of a two-year €90 billion loan to help cover the deficit.
The war’s long-range escalation has seen civilian casualties increase as Ukraine targets Russian oil refineries and warehouses, and Russian bombing has seen civilian casualties in Ukraine reach their highest level since May 2022 amid near-constant attacks on the country’s cities.
On Sunday, US ambassadors Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Kyiv for the first time to discuss peace proposals, but no breakthrough was achieved. A day earlier, they visited the Kremlin, which is still demanding that Ukraine give up territory and make a series of concessions to end the war.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke to Trump about the war on Monday and they agreed on the need to “continue to work toward a ceasefire that prevents further loss of life.”