The shortage of missiles for air defense in Ukraine should soon come to an end. As indicated by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense in a press release published this Wednesday, the American company Raytheon (RTX) confirmed its desire to “accelerate the delivery” of missiles for the Patriot systems.
The subject was at the heart of a meeting this week between Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Serhiy Boev and a delegation from the American military-industrial company RTX, led by Raytheon’s executive director in Ukraine, Jennifer Pushner.
“We must act”
“You have seen first-hand the critical importance of air defense and the speed with which we must act in this area. Last night, during one of the largest combined strikes ever carried out on Ukrainian territory, using a record number of ballistic missiles, energy infrastructure suffered further damage,” Serhiy Boev underlined according to his ministry’s press release.
Without publicly mentioning precise figures, the American company RTX will accelerate its delivery “through direct contracts and international support mechanisms”.
This decision comes in a context of shortages of anti-aircraft missiles, denounced on several occasions by kyiv. Volodymyr Zelensky even pointed out, in mid-January, the lack of missiles for Patriot. “I spoke with President Donald Trump and I received, I won’t say how many, PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability-3) missiles,” he explained a few days later, during a conversation at the second National Young Talent Forum.
During their meeting, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and RTX also discussed “plans regarding the maintenance and supply of air and missile defense systems in service within the defense forces.” Without giving further details, kyiv wants to create a base in Ukraine for the maintenance and repair of Western equipment.