Ukraine confirms arrival of Patriot systems

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has confirmed the arrival of the Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems in the country.

“'Patriots' for patriots. Do you know how to visualize a dream? We must tell about it the world and give it life! This is exactly what happened with the Patriots, even before the large-scale war, even before my appointment to the most important position of my life at the most important time of my life,” Caliber.Az quotes him as tweeting on April 19.

“This is exactly what happened during my visit to the United States in August 2021, while I was serving as the DPM on the Re-Integration of the Temporary Occupied Territories. That's when I first told our partners, "We need the Patriots." Our country's liberty and independence are under threat. And what did we hear? It's impossible! But the impossible is possible. Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defence systems have arrived in Ukraine. Our air defenders have mastered them as fast as they could. And our partners have kept their word. This is the result of hard work led by our President Zelenskyy,” he tweeted.

He thanked German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren and the American, German and Dutch peoples.

On April 18, Germany announced that it was sending Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine. Berlin promised to give Ukraine one Patriot air defence battery. One battery consists of four to eight launchers for four missiles each.

It is well known that the US was the first to announce the transfer of a Patriot system to Ukraine in December 2022 as part of the next military assistance package. Additionally, the Netherlands will also deliver Patriot SAMs and a number of missiles to Ukraine.