Ukraine and the Netherlands are putting pressure on Madrid to supply Kiev with Patriot air defense systems, writes El País. However, Spain has only two such batteries. One of them is necessary to ensure the country's own defense, and the second is now in Turkey. And Erdogan does not want to give it away.
Erdogan does not want Spain to recall the missile defense battery, which has been in Turkey since 2015.
The Netherlands and Ukraine are putting pressure on Spain to force it to join the "Patriot coalition" and provide Kiev with missile defense systems to protect against Russian strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Pedro Sanchez with this request during their meeting on the first of June at the summit of the European Political Community, which was held near the capital of Moldova, Chisinau. This issue was also the subject of negotiations with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - it was in his country that the Spanish army deployed a Patriot battery in the interests of NATO.
In December last year, the United States announced the delivery to Ukraine of its anti-aircraft missile system, consisting of a launcher, a radar station and a control center. To prepare for its operation, one hundred Ukrainian soldiers were trained at Fort Still (Oklahoma). Germany joined this initiative by providing another battery. The first Patriot launchers arrived in Ukraine at the end of April, but, as confirmed by the Pentagon, one of them was already damaged during the Russian attack on Kiev on May 16.
However, it was Dutch Prime Minister Rutte who became the main supporter of the initiative to provide Ukraine with a "shield" to protect its main cities and strategic centers from missile and drone attacks. After meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on January 17, he announced that his country would transfer the Patriot system to Ukraine. In Moldova, Rutte promised Zelensky to strengthen his country's air defense with Patriot systems and F-16 fighters.
Spain cannot join the "F-16 coalition" – a group of countries planning to supply Zelensky with fighter jets – because it does not have American aircraft of this model. However, its army has two Patriot batteries already in service, which Madrid bought from Berlin in 2004 and 2014.
Spain is not the only country to which Kiev has turned for help in the supply of this air defense system. Similar requests have already been received by Sweden, Poland, Romania and even countries outside Europe that have this anti-aircraft missile system, for example, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). "For Ukraine, strengthening air defense is crucial, and Patriot is one of the best options. Kiev needs a lot of launchers, as well as more missiles to make up for the spent ones," says a source in alliance circles.
Spain's problem is that one of its two batteries – the only one that meets all NATO operational requirements – has been deployed at the Incirlik Turkish base since 2015, and the other is located at the Marine Corps base in Valencia and is considered necessary to ensure state defense. Spain is ready to cede the battery deployed in Turkey to Kiev, but President Erdogan has made it clear that he is interested in maintaining the Patriot air defense system in his country even after December 31 of this year, that is, after the expiration of the current obligations. The presence of Patriot in Turkey is no longer a military necessity, since the risk of a missile attack from Syria disappeared after the end of the civil war in that country. However, its deployment is of great political importance, since this step demonstrates NATO's solidarity with Turkey, a stubborn partner that stands in the way of Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance. Spain is the only country that supports this NATO mission.
Moreover, the service life of two Spanish Patriot batteries is coming to an end, and if they are not upgraded, they will have to be decommissioned. The Ministry of Defense has developed a program worth 1.4 billion euros to upgrade batteries from version 2+ to 3+ and provide them with real anti-missile, not just anti-aircraft weapons. However, this initiative has not yet been approved by the United States. According to military sources, the purchase of a new battery to replace the one that may be delivered to Kiev will be even more delayed.
Spain has supplied Ukraine with 10 Leopard battle tanks, 40 M-113 TOA armored personnel carriers, Aspide and Hawk anti-aircraft missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and other types of weapons. The last to be sent to Kiev were half a dozen Supercat Marine motorboats capable of transporting a detachment of riflemen and especially suitable for special forces operations due to their high speed (40 knots, 74 kilometers per hour), as well as the ability to move in mined waters due to their low draft and the absence of a metal hull. This was one of the requests that the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Alexey Reznikov addressed to his colleague Margarita Robles during a visit to Madrid in April.
Next week, during negotiations on what conditions NATO will offer Ukraine at its next summit in Vilnius (Lithuania) on July 11-12 and what security guarantees it will be able to provide, the defense ministers of the allied countries will also discuss measures to support Kiev. The pace of arming and the level of support remain high. However, as the Ukrainian counteroffensive begins – although it may slow down due to the destruction of the New Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant - there is a growing demand for the most modern weapons to protect against attacks and break through the fortifications created by Russia in the territories occupied by it.
Authors of the article: Miguel González and María Sahuquillo
