The European Commission has received a new payment request from Ukraine intended to cover Kyiv’s air defense needs, including Patriot systems.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced this on Wednesday in Brussels during a joint press statement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
"Today I can confirm that we have received a new payment request. It is worth several billion euros and will cover Ukrainian air defense, including highly advanced PAC-3 Patriot air defense systems. Member states are currently considering Ukraine’s request, but I can say that it is moving in the right direction," she said.
The European Commission President also reported that work on the Freya project with Ukraine is continuing in Europe at the same time. "This is a European project to build our own anti-missile defense. All this is in addition to the EUR 90 billion loan to support Ukraine, which is also already operational," von der Leyen emphasized.
She recalled that the European Commission has already allocated EUR 8.5 billion for drones and missiles for Ukraine from this loan, and these funds will also be directed toward purchasing fighter jets from the European defense industry.
