European Commission allows Ukraine to buy Patriot missiles with EU loan originally restricted to European-made weapons
The European Commission has approved a 6.1 billion euro transfer to Ukraine under the Ukraine Support Loan program to buy air defense systems, missiles, and drones, EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said. Kyiv can now use the European loan to purchase PAC-3 interceptor missiles for its Patriot systems.
EU authorities cleared the 90 billion euro Ukraine Support Loan for 2026–2027 in April, with 30 billion euros earmarked for budget support and the remaining 60 billion for defense procurement. Under the loan’s rules, Ukraine can only buy weapons with at least 65% of their components made in Europe or Ukraine. Anything that falls short requires separate authorization.
The Commission had already carved out one exception, for Chinese-made drone components. It has now agreed to five more: three for Ukrainian-made drones and components whose cost exceeds the allowed threshold, and two for American weapons, including PAC-3.
Clearing PAC-3 purchases for European funding doesn’t mean Ukraine will get the missiles quickly, the Ukrainian news outlet Kyiv Independent reported. Kyiv is currently contracting for roughly 1,000 Patriot missiles, but much of that order won’t be filled for years.
Kubilius also said the EU and NATO are discussing a swap arrangement: countries would hand Ukraine missiles from their own stockpiles now and receive interceptors in return once Kyiv’s 2027 batches arrive. Germany had already promised days earlier to send Ukraine missiles from its own reserves.
A shortage of Patriot missiles remains one of the most serious threats to Ukraine’s air defenses. Without these interceptors, Ukrainian forces have essentially no way to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles.
That shortage will become especially critical as winter sets in. Analysts believe Moscow plans to escalate attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the cold months to strengthen its position at the negotiating table.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.