According to the agency’s interlocutors, Berlin’s pressure campaign on the US is part of a coordinated effort aimed at forcing NATO and European Union partners to increase aid to Ukraine with air defense systems.
This week, Germany will also continue to press European allies, including France and Italy, to assess what they can achieve, the report said.
Earlier, German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck highlighted the “extremely large number of drones and missiles” aimed at Ukraine, and said air defense systems were one of Kiev’s most pressing needs, along with artillery munitions.
“If the Americans could send Patriot systems, that would help a lot,” Habek said in a radio interview Deutschlandfunk on Monday.
Germany’s foreign and defense ministers announced a global initiative to find additional air defense capabilities for Ukraine in a letter to dozens of countries. In addition, on April 13, Germany announced the urgent transfer of one Patriot anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine.
