“The process is underway” – Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about the delivery of the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine

Negotiations to supply Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine are ongoing. This issue is under the personal control of Volodymyr Zelensky.

He shared this in his interview with the French TV channels TF1 and LCI.

When answering the journalist’s question about the transfer of the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine, Zelensky mentioned that he was personally involved in the negotiations about it.

“The process is ongoing. I am personally involved in this. We critically need this. Everything that we personally do in Ukraine is aimed at bringing the result closer. It’s important to me, and this regards my relationship with President Biden. And I think that… we’ll see,” said Zelensky.

However, he emphasized that talks about supplying these systems are ongoing.

“We are constantly discussing this [with U.S. President Joe Biden]. I consider this issue with a positive outlook. With great positivity,” Zelensky added.

Zelensky discussed the supply of air defense and missile defense equipment to Ukraine when answering a question about protecting against Iranian Shahed-136 drones. He stressed that Kyiv is negotiating the supply of Crotale and SAMP-T air defense systems.

“Currently with the French Republic, with my counterpart Emmanuel Macron, we agreed on the Crotale systems. Thank you very much, I don’t know yet how they operate, they haven’t started working yet. We have similar examples with American partners, namely NASAMS, and with German partners, namely IRIS-T. We are aiming for systems that depend on the decision of Italy and France, specifically SAMP-T. These systems along with other anti-aircraft systems will also help,” Zelensky added.

As previously reported, the USA is considering the possibility of transferring the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.

One of the plans under consideration discusses the transfer to Ukraine of a Patriot missile battery in a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 modification designed to intercept ballistic missiles.

Another option would be contracting Raytheon Technologies to produce new systems from scratch, but that could take years.

Patriot PAC-3

PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability-3) is the latest and most advanced modernized version of the American Patriot class air defense systems. The system is designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, as well as cruise missiles.

The air defense system uses the ERINT (Extended Range Interceptor) highly maneuverable direct-hit anti-missile. The ERINT anti-missile is a single-stage solid fuel projectile designed according to the normal aerodynamic scheme with small elongation wings and aerodynamic aileron rudders. Each launcher can accommodate up to 16 ERINT interceptor missiles.