Source: EU to discuss who will give up their place in queue for Patriot missiles to Ukraine

Defence ministers of EU member states will discuss on 28 September in Brussels the possibility of giving up their place in the "queue" to purchase Patriot interceptor missiles from American manufacturer Lockheed.

According to an unnamed EU official, the EU will hold discussions on planning the supply of Patriot interceptors to Ukraine.

EU member states understand that Ukraine needs interceptors "as soon as possible", European Pravda source said.

They said some of the Patriot missiles will be provided directly by the United States under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme, which supplies Ukraine with US-made weapons.

"Another portion could be provided if states agree to swap their orders with Ukraine," the senior official said. He pointed out that the Council of the EU meeting of defence ministers on 28 September "will be another opportunity to press member states on this".

Another source in the EU institutions said discussions are also under way on the possibility of an EU member state transferring Patriot interceptor missiles it already has to Ukraine, with Ukraine then using funds from the €90 billion loan to order the same number of missiles from the manufacturer in the United States for that country.

According to European Pravda sources, the country in question could be Spain or Greece.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that during his meeting with Donald Trump in New York, the US president told him that he had decided to grant Ukraine licences to produce missiles for Patriot air defence systems.

Zelenskyy announced earlier an agreement on a package of Patriot missiles with one state, whose name has not been disclosed.