Ukraine has not yet received the Patriot air defense system from Israel - Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that the Patriot air defense system, which Kyiv was supposed to receive from Israel via the United States, has not yet arrived. This is reported by Suspilne. According to him, there was an agreement with Israel to supply air defense systems, but initially it was not about the American Patriot systems.

According to the president, Ukraine initially negotiated with Israel to obtain Israeli-Indian Barak 8 air defense systems, but due to the Hamas attack on Israel in the fall of 2023, the delivery did not take place. After that, Kyiv turned to the United States with a request for the Patriot system, which Israel could transfer for modernization.

"We received information that we can count on some old Patriot models. That is, there are weapons that are working, and there are donors to restore them. There was a part of the systems in Israel that could work if they were restored a little. But in the end, one system was transferred by Israel to the States for restoration. We have not seen this system on the territory of Ukraine yet," Zelensky said.

Previously, Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky stated that Israel had transferred Patriot air defense systems, which it received from the United States in the early 1990s, to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.