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Germany pledges Patriot air defense for Ukraine
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Chancellor Merz has said Germany is ready to buy US-made Patriot systems for Ukraine. At the summit in Rome where he spoke, allies pledged over €10 billion for rebuilding as Zelenskyy warned of more Russian attacks.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on Thursday that Germany is prepared to purchase US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile defense systems for Kyiv.
His pledge came as Russia continued its daily aerial bombardment of Ukraine, involving hundreds of drones and missiles.
What did the Merz say about Patriots?
"We are also prepared to purchase additional Patriot systems from the US to make them available to Ukraine," Merz said at the conference, where air defense was discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyiv's allies.
The Patriot is one of the world's most advanced air-defense systems and is capable of intercepting aircraft as well as ballistic and cruise missiles.
To date, the US has only approved the delivery of three Patriot missile batteries to Kyiv — and that was under US President Donald Trump's predecessor Joe Biden.
Merz said he asked Trump last week to deliver more of the Patriot systems.
"The Americans need some of them themselves, but they also have a lot of them ... It has not yet been finalized whether a delivery will be made," Merz added.
Patriot systems come in fully mobile batteries that include a command center, a radar station to detect incoming threats, and launchers. The system covers an area of around 68 kilometers (42 miles), according to the German military.
Its radar can track up to 50 targets and engage five of them at once. Depending on the version in use, the interceptor missiles can reach an altitude of more than 24 kilometers and hit targets up to 160 kilometers away.
Messages to the Kremlin — and Trump
Merz also pledged broader and steadfast support for Ukraine at the conference.
"I have two messages, one goes to Moscow, to President [Vladimir] Putin," Merz said. "The message is quite simple: We will not give up," he emphasized, to applause from those gathered.
The conference is being held for the fourth year in a row after first being convened in 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Merz said his second message was to Washington, to US President Donald Trump. "Stay with us and stay with the Europeans," Merz said. "We are on the same page," the German leader stressed.
Trump has signaled frustration with Putin as the US president tries to close a deal to end the war, even as Russian aerial bombardments on Ukrainian cities continue unabated.
What else happened at the conference?
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said participants at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome have pledged over €10 billion ($11.7 billion) to help with Ukraine's economic recovery.
"I think we should be proud of the result we have achieved together today — nations, international organizations, financial institutions, local authorities, the business sector, and civil society," Meloni said in her opening speech.
The European Commission detailed €2.3 billion in support to Ukraine to help it rebuild.
Zelenskyy had earlier warned that Russia was intensifying attacks and stressed that "we cannot have a shortage of funding." He said the attacks were proof that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not interested in peace and was escalating the violence. Zelenskyy made his comments at the start of the two-day summit.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
Author: Richard Connor (with AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
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