Europe to send Kyiv US air defenses for Russian winter blitz

Alex Wickham, Andrea Palasciano and Michael Nienaber, Bloomberg News on Sep 9, 2026

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European countries will buy Ukraine more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems and send missiles from their own stocks to help Ukraine repel an expected Russian winter onslaught.

The influx of missiles will arrive both through individual donations and a NATO program that lets European countries purchase U.S. weapons for Kyiv. The commitments were made Tuesday, as Ukraine’s allies gathered for a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, established to help orchestrate ongoing military aid as Russia’s full-scale war grinds through a fifth year.

Germany was one of the countries that said it would donate some of its own PAC-2 Patriots, which are in short supply globally because of the Iran war.

“I am aware that it is not easy to strike a balance between one’s own security requirements and urgently needed support for Ukraine. But please: if in doubt, decide in favor of Ukraine,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at Tuesday’s meeting.

The new interceptors are much-needed for Ukraine. The country has been running low on air defenses and is struggling to shoot down Russian missiles. The upcoming winter will also be especially challenging, as Moscow is likely to boost its strikes on critical infrastructure as the temperature drops.

European countries are currently finalizing their plans for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization program — known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL — and the interceptors will arrive in time for the winter, according to people familiar with the plans. The people declined to be named or specify the number of missiles that will be delivered, citing security reasons.

Germany will also send Ukraine more AIM-9 air-to-air missiles and sell the country “several thousands additional IRIS-T guided missiles” financed by the European Union’s €90 billion ($105 billion) loan to Ukraine.

“We must be prepared for a protracted conflict,” U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby said at Tuesday’s gathering.

The delivery of additional IRIS-T air-to-air missiles is planned for September and the German government will also soon provide Ukraine with several thousand strike drones, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Still, the donations fall short of what Ukraine and other officials have said the country needs in its fight against Russia.

PURL, for instance, has now received $10 billion in contributions from NATO allies, according to the military alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte. That figure is below the $12 billion Rutte has called for, even if it has allowed Ukraine to keep receiving weapons “uninterrupted,” he said.

“Nations must dig deeper, we have no choice I believe,” Rutte added.

Kyiv has said it is in dire need of air defense support, and specifically interceptors, following an escalation in Russian ballistic missile attacks in recent months. The PURL package being negotiated is a direct response to requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the people said.

The Ukrainian leader said he needs allies to deliver 300 Patriot missiles in time for the winter.

“We ask that you supply us the missiles from your stockpiles today in exchange for future improved missiles from our contracts,” Ukraine’s new defense minister, Yevhenii Khmara, told allies on Tuesday.

Before the meeting, the U.K. government announced it would make a new £100 million ($135 million) commitment to the PURL program, with an undisclosed sum going toward Patriot missiles. It said the pledge was agreed to after Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Defense Secretary Wes Streeting visited Kyiv.

In a social media post ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Zelenskyy welcomed the U.K. announcement, saying the contribution to the “winter package” would be “channeled, in particular, toward the procurement of additional Patriot interceptors, which is an absolute priority amid Russia’s unrelenting attacks on critical infrastructure and life itself.”

In its push to get more Patriots, Ukraine was also pressing the E.U. to let it buy the U.S.-made interceptors with the bloc’s loan money — a move requiring an exemption to the fund’s conditions. On Monday, E.U. countries approved the request, according to people familiar with the matter.

The decision reflects Europe’s ongoing struggle to boost its own defense industry. Numerous E.U. countries had hoped the Ukraine loan would help drive spending toward E.U.-made SAMP/T air defense systems instead of U.S.-made Patriots. But, as is often the case, war-time realities are interceding.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the E.U.’s top executive, confirmed the carveout on Tuesday afternoon.

“I welcome the agreement by Member States on the derogation for Ukraine to purchase crucial products for Patriot air defence systems,” she said in a statement.

—With assistance from Jorge Valero, Aliaksandr Kudrytski and Max Ramsay.