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Greece and Spain under pressure to provide Ukraine with air defence systems

Kyiv renews plea for Patriot and S-300 systems at meeting of foreign and defence ministers

Greece and Spain are under intense pressure from their EU and Nato allies to provide more air defence systems to Ukraine, as Kyiv demanded more aid at a meeting of EU foreign and defence ministers on Monday.

The Ukrainian leadership has made an urgent plea to western allies for seven additional air defence systems, such as US-made Patriots or Soviet-developed S-300s, as Russia steps up an air and missile campaign against the country’s cities and power infrastructure.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X on Sunday: “Patriots can only be called air defence systems if they work and save lives rather than standing immobile somewhere in storage bases.”

Only Germany has announced a shipment, of one Patriot system.

Other EU leaders used a summit in Brussels last week to personally urge Spanish and Greek prime ministers Pedro Sánchez and Kyriakos Mitsotakis to donate some of their systems to Ukraine, according to people briefed on the discussions.

The two leaders, whose armed forces possess between them more than a dozen Patriot systems plus others such as S-300s, were told their need was not as great as Ukraine’s and that they did not face any imminent threat.

“We all know who has them, we all know where they are, and we all know who really needs them,” said one of the people.

https://www.ft.com/content/cc322202-...2-ae1c89deea10