European Commission approves Ukraine's request to fund Patriot missiles with EU loan
The European Commission has approved Ukraine's request to use funds from the European Union's €90 billion loan to purchase missiles for Patriot air defense systems, Suspilne reported, citing an EU official.
Ukraine had asked the EU to allocate more than €2 billion from the loan to finance the purchase of Patriot interceptors, Suspilne reported on Sept. 1.
The approval comes as Ukraine faces a shortage of missiles capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine has received three times fewer such interceptors from its partners in 2026 than it did last year. According to Zelenskyy, partners attributed the reduction to fighting in the Middle East.
The Financial Times previously reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had rejected Zelenskyy's request for 300 Patriot missiles, citing the need to preserve U.S. stockpiles amid the war with Iran.
Zelenskyy recently said Ukraine had received a small batch of Patriot missiles but stressed that more were needed. Kyiv has also secured commitments for several Crotale air defense systems and missiles and has received AIM missiles used by NASAMS medium-range air defense systems.
The funding approval comes as Russia continues large-scale missile and drone attacks on Ukraine. During an overnight attack on Sept. 8, Russia launched ballistic missiles, 32 Kh-101 cruise missiles and 166 drones, according to Ukraine's Air Force.
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