Germany has publicly criticized Spain and Greece for not donating their Patriot air-defense systems to Ukraine. Kyiv has said it needs at least seven of the American-made surface-to-air missile batteries to protect its cities from Russia’s mounting campaign of long-range bombardments. “Many countries have Patriot systems or comparable,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a television appearance late on Tuesday. He added: “Let’s say if a country that has, for instance, six Patriot systems or four and is not in the front line to the east, it can easily hand over a Patriot system.” Asked by the host to confirm whether he was referring to Spain and Greece, Mr Pistorius said: ‘We’re talking to them right now. I honestly can’t understand it.” Madrid has a Patriot battery deployed in Turkey, where it has been stationed since 2013 to protect against missile attacks from Syria. The focus has fallen on the two southern capitals because Nato officials are keen to maintain Patriot systems in Romania and Poland because of their proximity to the Russian border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday he met finance minister Jeremy Hunt in Kyiv and called for sanctions against Russia to be tightened to stop Moscow from bypassing them. Mr Zelensky said in a statement on the Telegram app that he was grateful to close ally Britain for unveiling this week a new 500 million pound ($625 million) uplift in a defense support package. “Particular attention was paid to sanctions policy. It is important to expand restrictive measures against Russia and exclude the possibility of circumventing sanctions,” Mr Zelensky said. He said Mr Hunt would meet Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and other ministers later on Thursday. Russia vetoed a UN resolution to stop the development and deployment of nuclear weapons in space. The draft proposals called on all states with “major space capabilities” to “contribute to the objective” of keeping space peaceful and preventing an arms race in outer space. It also urged countries to uphold the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, under which all parties agreed “not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction”. A total of 13 of the council’s 15 members voted in favor, with Russia – one of five permanent members with a veto – voting against and China abstaining. It follows warnings by White House spokesperson John Kirby in February that Russia was developing a “troubling” new anti-satellite weapon. US Space Force warned on Wednesday that China is developing anti-satellite weapons as part of a “breathtaking” military expansion. Photographs have been released of Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) bound for Ukraine from Australia. The country first used long-range ballistic missiles, called ATACMS, last summer, striking a Russian military airfield in Crimea and Russian troops in another occupied area. In the second photograph, ATACMS can be seen being prepared for loading onto the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in Queensland. Six people have been injured and critical infrastructure damaged by a Russian strike in Ukraine’s central Cherkasy region on Thursday, according to the regional governor. The attack hit civilian and railway infrastructure in the city of Smila, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Illya Yevlash said in a television broadcast. An Iskander-K missile, a mobile short-range ballistic missile system produced and deployed by the Russian military, was suspected to have been used in the attack, Mr Yevlash added. The blast wave and debris also damaged 47 homes and shattered windows in a high-rise building, Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets said via the Telegram messaging app. Ukraine’s air defenses had shot down the aerial target, he said. Emergency services are working at the site of the attack. Russia will make Nato nuclear weapons in Poland one of its primary targets if they are deployed there, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday, according to the TASS news agency. ”…Moves in this direction will not provide greater security (for Poland or other nations that host such weapons),” TASS quoted Ryabkov as saying. The United States is the first to acknowledge that its long-awaited $61 billion aid package for Ukraine is not a “silver bullet.” As weapons and ammunition are rushed to the country, other issues such as manpower shortages in Kyiv’s struggling military have come to the fore. Meanwhile, the monthslong delay in passing the aid package has further weakened Ukraine’s position on the battleground. President Joe Biden, who quickly signed the law Wednesday after it passed Congress, said the bill “should have gotten there sooner”. Jake Sullivan, his National Security Advisor, said the aid package “will make a difference,” but warned “there is no silver bullet in this conflict.” “One capability is not going to be the ultimate solution,” Mr Sullivan told a White House briefing, but adding “Ukraine’s position in this conflict will improve and we believe that Ukraine can and will win.”
Germany Calls Out Spain and Greece for Withholding Patriot Systems from Ukraine
