EU Defence Ministers are gathering on 31 August and 1 September in Irish Wicklow, and Spain and Greece are to be called upon to hand over parts of the Patriot missiles to Ukraine. Kiev estimates the needs before winter to 300 pieces. For Poland, the stakes are clear: to support Ukraine's defence, but not at the expense of its own heaven.
Patriots on the Wicklow table
The informal gathering of the defence ministers of the European Union began on 31 August in Wicklow County. According to the authoritative programme of the Irish Presidency the first working session on 1 September concerns support for Ukraine. Obradom is chaired by Irish defence minister Helen McEntee and EU advanced typical Kaja Kallas.
According to Euronews, the European Commission is to force Spain and Greece in peculiar to hand over any of the supplies of the Patriot capture missiles. The talks are informal and should so not be considered as announcements of a final decision. However, force is real due to the fact that Ukraine needs ammunition capable of combating Russian ballistic missiles.
President Volodymyr Zelenski estimated that 300 interceptive missiles were needed before the next winter. At the same time, supplies are falling, and Russia is expanding the impact on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Any gap in the air defence means a greater hazard to the civilian population, energy and state's ability to wage war.
Athens and Madrid number their own stocks
Greece has six Patriot batteries, but Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis refused to hand them over, pointing to the request to defend Greek airspace. The current conversation is primarily about missiles, not full batteries. This is an crucial distinction, although it does not remove the problem: a launcher without adequate ammunition supply is simply a capacity only on paper.
Spain had previously declared 5 Patriot missiles for Ukraine. Now Madrid is to hear the anticipation of another move. However, both countries are in a region burdened with their own tensions. Greece is looking at the east Mediterranean and the ammunition deficit is already affecting all NATO, not only the front in Ukraine.
The Associated Press reported on August 27, citing US and NATO officials that American stocks of advanced interceptive missiles in Europe are critically low. The war with Iran has further burdened the United States reserves. Europe is so in a situation where the same projectile is needed to defend Kiev, the Allied bases and its own cities of NATO states.
Money can't replace ready-made ammunition.
The Union approved EUR 6.1 billion to acquisition air and rocket defence, missiles, ammunition and radar for Ukraine. Financing is needed, but the resolution does not fill warehouses. Production takes time, industrial capacity and long contracts. Many years of neglect cannot be done with 1 package.
The same deficit has already been described in the analysis of why Europe counts Patriots for Ukraine, and Poland must defender its own shield. The current emphasis on Athens and Madrid confirms that the problem is not in the absence of political declarations. There are no physical missiles and no certainty erstwhile the supplies will be restored.
Poland's state of affairs requires 2 safeguards
The Russian rocket offensive in Ukraine is besides a threat to Poland. Keeping Russian missiles further distant from our border limits Moscow's freedom and helps keep a Ukrainian state capable of fighting. It's in our national interest.
However, Warsaw cannot agree to a simple mechanics for emptying East flank warehouses without immediate completion. Poland should support deliveries to Ukraine and at the same time request precedence in rebuilding stocks, expanding production and the permanent presence of allied defence in our territory. Without this, solidarity is turned into a bill to the countries most exposed to Russian pressure.
The dispute over Spanish and Greek missiles exposes the long-standing weakness of European defence policy. strategical autonomy has been mentioned, but adequate retention facilities have not been built. present a sensible policy must combine Ukraine's aid with tough protection of Poland. 1 without another would mean a hazard that we cannot afford.
Source: Euronews, Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU, Associated Press, Kresy.pl.
