Romania to decide on sending Patriot to Ukraine

Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defense/CSAT is meeting on June 20 to decide on a possible transfer of a Patriot missile system to Ukraine. The Defence Ministry reportedly opposes the transfer.

Last week, Romania’s second Patriot air defense system was declared ready for combat following its successful intercept of a target simulating a cruise missile during a live-fire exercise on the banks of the Black Sea. The country has received two other systems and expects another three out of a total of seven Patriot systems contracted for USD 3.9 billion in 2017.

The potential transfer of a Patriot system to Ukraine will be decided based on a report by the Ministry of Defense regarding the opportunity of such a step. According to Digi24, the report concludes that Romania should not transfer the missile system, a conclusion reached after discussions with army generals.

The report claims that there is a risk that Romania will no longer receive back the system transferred to a war zone where Russian artillery and aviation frequently attack Ukrainian military positions and installations.

Last month, during a visit to Washington, president Klaus Iohannis admitted that he had discussed with Joe Biden the possibility of Romania giving Ukraine a Patriot system. However, on May 22, he explained that such a decision would only be made in the CSAT and warned that he found it unacceptable that Romania would remain without anti-missile defense.

(Photo source: Facebook/Angel Tilvar)