EU armies have about 100 Patriot batteries but are still unable to provide 7 to Ukraine – Borrell

EU High Representative Josep Borrell emphasized that the European Union should pay more attention not only to the reconstruction of Ukraine but also to how to prevent destruction. He emphasized that the European Union should provide the country with more air defense equipment, in particular the Patriot, which Ukraine requested, as well as ammunition.

He said this during a speech at the European forum Nueva Economia Forum.

So, Borrell informed that a few days ago he spoke with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, who requested the urgent provision of seven Patriot batteries to protect the skies of Ukraine.

"It is inconceivable that we would not be able to provide them, given that the Western armies have about 100 Patriot batteries. And yet we are unable to provide the seven that they are desperately asking for," the senior EU representative emphasized.

Borrell noted that the European Union is talking about rebuilding Ukraine. However, they should talk more about how to avoid destruction. He emphasized that the best way to spend less on rebuilding is to spend more on preventing destruction.

"And Ukrainians have no way to avoid destruction because, frankly, we have to do more and faster to allow them to have the potential they need," he said.

Borrell also stressed that it is also necessary to discuss the topic of ammunition, that is, the industrial capacity of the EU to produce more of it. In this regard, he raised the issue of the institutional environment, which is necessary to achieve "the level of our ambitions in the field of security and defense" since, historically, European defense has never been built on the basis of any single supranational plan, and still remains the responsibility of the member states EU.

"We have to solve two problems that we have. One of them is the problem of spending, money, resources, and finance. And also the problem of collective action: how do we manage, how do we organize our collective action? We have a problem of spending because we have neglected defense and security issues since the European crisis," he said.

As earlier reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the situation in Kharkiv is currently very difficult, and the authorities are looking for opportunities to give the city more sky protection.

It was also reported on April 8 that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will give new tasks to diplomats regarding air defense systems for Ukraine.