Zelenskyy and Germany's Merz discuss strengthening Ukraine's air defence in Berlin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have discussed strengthening Ukraine's air defence with two additional Patriot systems on Wednesday 13 August.

Zelenskyy is visiting Germany, where he held an "important and substantive meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz".

"We discussed our recent contacts with partners and further engagement with allies, the increase in defence support, Germany's participation in the new PURL [Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List] initiative, the strengthening of Ukraine's air defence with two additional Patriot systems and missiles for them, and reliable security guarantees," Zelenskyy wrote on X.

After the meeting with Merz, Zelenskyy stressed that they share a common understanding: "As long as Russia takes no steps toward peace, we must continue to exert pressure on it and strengthen support for Ukraine."

The United States and NATO have launched a new mechanism for providing military aid to Ukraine, PURL, which foresees funding for US weapons through contributions from Alliance members.

On 1 August, Germany confirmed it would supply Ukraine with two Patriot systems. This was made possible through an agreement with the United States, whereby Berlin would be first in line to receive the newest systems in return for providing existing launchers and components to Ukraine.

Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany, in an interview with European Pravda, responded to a question about how many Patriot systems Ukraine expects from Germany by saying the number is currently changing. 

"We initially asked the Germans to purchase two systems for us from the United States. After the Ramstein meeting, it was publicly announced that the partners were trying to find five systems. However, in reality, we need ten or more," he said.