The call for the urgent transfer of air defense equipment to Ukraine rises from the EU summit; IRIS-T and Patriot systems will be shipped to Ukraine soon.

The gathered EU leaders pleaded for the provision of additional air defense equipment for Ukraine and called on member states to accelerate the delivery of all necessary military aid, including artillery ammunition and missiles.

The leaders also pledged that the EU and its member states would provide humanitarian and civil protection assistance, including equipment such as generators and power transformers.

At the same time, the German weapon manufacturer Diehl Defense, which manufactures the IRIS-T SLM air defense system, said: “Three of our systems are already in Ukraine, and more will be delivered this year. The next one will be in just a few weeks.”

The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, said: “We know that many countries are sitting on a large pile of Patriot systems, perhaps not wanting to transfer them directly. We can buy them and deliver to Ukraine – we have the money. This is extremely important”.

Rutte said that he and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg urged the Allies to look deeper into their reserves and release air defense systems for Kyiv.