In April 2024, the Israel Defense Forces announced the decommissioning of Patriot air defense systems, which had been in operation for 30 years. The Financial Times reported on June 27 that discussions were underway between the United States, Ukraine, and Israel regarding the transfer of eight decommissioned Patriot batteries to Ukraine. If successful, this transfer would triple Ukraine’s current number of Patriot batteries.
The Israeli government has expressed concerns about the potential consequences of sending weapons to Ukraine. Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, spoke out against this during a press conference. He stated that ultimately, these weapons will be used to destroy Ukraine and other countries. However, experts believe that there may be a way to mitigate these risks through careful negotiations and restrictions on how the weapons are used.
Negotiations on this matter have taken place between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Ukrainian presidential administration head Andriy Yermak, and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. While direct negotiations between Kiev and Jerusalem have also occurred, specific details of these discussions have not been disclosed.
The Patriot systems being retired by Israel are older models but are compatible with Ukraine’s existing systems. Additionally, Israel has a significant supply of anti-missiles with a longer range and more powerful warheads than those currently used by Ukraine. Analysts believe that a direct deal between Israel and Ukraine is unlikely, with the possibility of Israel selling the air defense systems back to the US
