KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine said on Friday it had received its third German-supplied Patriot air defence system following months of pleas for equipment to protect its civilians and infrastructure from Russian air strikes.
Moscow renewed its aerial assaults on Ukraine’s national power grid in the spring, causing sweeping blackouts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country needed at least seven additional Patriot systems to protect itself.
He expressed gratitude to Germany for the decision.
“We set ourselves the task of doubling the strength of our air defence shield, and today marks the beginning of that,” he said in his address.
German Ambassador to Ukraine Martin Jaeger added on X that the newly supplied system will further protect civilians and critical infrastructure.
“The Ukrainian crew has successfully completed appropriate training in Germany,” he said on X.
Kyiv has indicated it hopes for progress on air defence supplies at a NATO summit in Washington next week. A senior U.S. State Department official has said Kyiv is expected to get “good news” at the summit.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and regularly uses its arsenal of missiles and drones to conduct long-range strikes.
(Reporting by Yuliia DysaEditing by Tom Balmforth, Gareth Jones and Andrew Heavens)
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