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Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on May 7 that he was open to discussing sending an American-made MIM-104 Patriot long-range air defense system to Ukraine.
“There has been a discussion about who can send Patriot systems to Ukraine over the last few weeks,” Iohannis told reporters in Washington after meeting United States President Joe Biden in Washington, according to SWI swissinfo.
“President Biden mentioned it … in our meeting and I said I was open to discussion. I must discuss it in the Supreme Defence Council to see what we can offer and what we can get in return, because it is unacceptable to leave Romania without air defenses,” he added.
Romania, a NATO member since 2004, signed a $4 billion deal in 2017 to obtain a number of Patriot systems armed with PAC-2 GEM-T & PAC-3 MSE missiles, but so far only has one that is operational.
Iohannis said that any discussions related to Ukraine would concern a system that was in an advanced stage of becoming operational.
The White House said Biden thanked Romania for its commitment to security in NATO’s east, including in the Black Sea region, and applauded its defense investments, which exceed NATO’s target of spending at least 2% of GDP.
“The leaders reaffirmed their steadfast support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s senseless aggression, and President Biden expressed his appreciation for Romania’s support to Ukrainian refugees and efforts to move Ukrainian grain to market,” the White House said, omitting any mention of Patriot missiles.
Last year, Ukraine received two Patriot batteries and two launchers from Germany and another battery from the United States with two additional launchers donated by the Netherlands. Most of these systems have already been damaged or destroyed by the Russian military.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said recently that Ukraine needs 25 Patriots to cover the entire country, but his Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that he is for now focused on securing just seven systems to protect only the largest cities in the country.
Germany said on April 13 that it would provide Ukraine with one more Patriot system. However, Greece refused requests to supply any of its systems. Spain also refused, but said that it would supply additional missiles to Kiev forces.
The additional Patriot system Ukraine will get from Germany and the other that could be supplied by Romania will most likely meet the same fate as the ones supplied to Ukraine before.
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