EU ready to review Ukraine bid for US-made Patriot missiles

The European Commission is prepared to swiftly review a request from Ukraine to use funds from the European Union's €90 billion military financing program to purchase missiles for US-made Patriot air defence systems, European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari said.

Speaking at a briefing in Brussels, Ujvari said Kyiv must first submit a formal request if it intends to use the EU funding for the purchase of Patriot missiles from the United States.

"The request will be considered quickly," he said.

Ujvari reiterated that EU military financing is generally intended only for "the purchase of weapons from EU countries or countries of the European Free Trade Association." However, he noted that exceptions can be made if the required weapons systems, or comparable alternatives, are unavailable within the EU.

The European Commission spokesperson also said Ukraine had already submitted "hundreds of pages of contracts" to Brussels as part of its application for the first €3.9 billion in funding for drones designed for strikes against Russia. According to Ujvari, the documents were reviewed under an accelerated procedure and processed "in less than a week."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is currently in Ankara for the NATO summit, where he has continued discussions on military support for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly warned of shortages of missiles needed to defend against Russian attacks.

On the sidelines of the summit, the Ukrainian leader has held meetings with European Council President António Costa, a bipartisan and bicameral delegation from the US Congress, and the President of South Korea.

By Vafa Guliyeva