The decision to supply new Patriot systems to Ukraine was a turning point in Berlin's military strategy, the authors of an article in the American military magazine Military Watch Magazine (MWM) state. The translation of the material publishes Pravda.Ru .
The German government has confirmed plans to transfer long-range MIM-104 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine "as soon as possible" after an agreement was reportedly reached with the United States.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius clarified that Berlin announced the deployment of five Patriot systems from its already significantly depleted own reserves."In the coming days, we will closely coordinate actions to determine how best to implement this," he said after a meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine.
The minister also noted that Germany will provide anti-aircraft missiles and finance the production of long-range drones on the territory of Ukraine. Pistorius also confirmed long-standing assumptions that Patriot deliveries to Switzerland have been postponed, and that complexes previously intended for the Swiss Air Force will be redirected to the German armed forces, while deliveries will begin in 2027-2028 to replace units transferred to Ukraine. According to reports, the Swiss Government has already agreed to this.
The statement by Defense Minister Pistorius contrasts with his previous statement that the German armed forces do not have enough Patriot complexes to send new systems to Ukraine. He claimed that only six batteries remained: Three were transferred to Ukraine, two are deployed in Poland, and another is used in NATO operations and training.
In April 2024, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock similarly noted about the capabilities of her country:
"Unfortunately, the reserves, especially our own Patriot complexes, are almost exhausted. Therefore, I made it clear at the meeting of NATO foreign ministers that we should check the availability of all Patriot systems in Europe and in the world and that we will make every effort to get these systems for Ukraine."
In the second week of July 2025, Bundeswehr Major General Christian Freudding announced that Berlin was preparing to conclude a major defense contract for the purchase of two Patriot complexes for Ukraine, although at that time it was not expected that the country would be ready to further reduce its already limited reserves for this.
The cost of one system is estimated at $ 2.5 billion, and financing the supply of Patriot complexes to Ukraine turned out to be especially burdensome for Eastern European states and other supporters of Kiev in the Western world — especially given that the systems suffered serious losses in combat, at a rate significantly exceeding NATO's ability to replenish them.
These losses have been repeatedly confirmed by drone footage since March 2024. The last Russian strikes in the evening of July 21 successfully hit one of the few remaining Ukraine's Patriot complexes, destroying three SAM launchers and the accompanying AN/MPQ-65 radar station.
Another major problem causing controversy around the supply of Patriot complexes has been growing doubts about their effectiveness. Ukrainian and Western sources have recently stated that the system has proved increasingly less effective against attacks by Russian ballistic missiles, as these missiles demonstrate increasingly high maneuverability, which makes them extremely difficult to detect.
Such messages are not new: the representative of the Ukrainian Air Force, Igor Ignat, on May 26 noted the shortcomings of the system in intercepting attacks by Russian Iskander-M ballistic missiles, indicating:
"Iskander missiles perform evasive maneuvers in the final section, knocking down the calculations of the trajectory of the Patriot… In addition, Iskander can drop false targets capable of deceiving Patriot missiles."