Stoltenberg: "Top priority for NATO is to deliver Patriot systems to Ukraine"

The issue of transferring US Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine is currently a priority for NATO, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

"Our priority is the transfer of Patriot," he said at a briefing with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to Kyiv.

The NATO Secretary General stressed that Ukraine needs not only Patriot but also other systems, such as NASAMS.

"We need a tiered air defence system," Stoltenberg said.

President Zelenskyy, for his part, said he had received assurances from Western partners that there would be no delays in the supply of missiles for the Patriot system.

"As for the number of missiles for Patriot, we really expect positive results in this matter. Thank God that after the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council was convened, we received assurances that there will be no delays in the supply of Patriot missiles," Zelenskyy said.

Regarding the supply of additional Patriot systems to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said that "there are no specifics that we expect from our partners at the moment". "There are first steps," he added.

Background. As reported, Stoltenberg and Zelenskyy also discussed the idea of creating a special fund for financial support for Ukrainian defence worth €100 billion for five years.