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German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said Germany cannot provide Ukraine with additional Patriot air-defence systems for now, warning that anything handed over now could not be replaced quickly enough and would leave gaps in Germany's own defences that Berlin cannot justify.
Pistorius made the remarks in an interview published on Saturday, November 7, with the Funke newspaper group, including the Berliner Morgenpost. "Anything we give now would not be replaced for the time being; that would create gaps on our side that we cannot justify," he said. "We cannot do more right now," he added — in German, "Mehr geht gerade nicht."
He urged other countries to step up and contribute more air-defence support for Ukraine. According to the Tagesspiegel's account of the interview, Pistorius said other states had contributed significantly less and should now do more. He named no prospective donor and set no quota for additional batteries. The issue will be discussed "very seriously" at the next meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in mid-November.
Germany has already supplied Ukraine with several Patriot systems and a large number of guided missiles, Pistorius said. Berlin and London are also preparing a roadmap for further air-defence support for Ukraine ahead of the contact group meeting on November 17.
The decision comes as Ukraine faces continued Russian missile and drone attacks. On the night of November 6-7, Russia struck Kyiv with ballistic missiles in several waves, and the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported that Ukraine intercepted only four of about 32 ballistic missiles launched overnight. On November 1, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the United States to urgently resolve the issue of interceptor missile supplies for Ukraine's Patriot systems.
Pistorius's remarks concern Germany's ability to spare additional Patriot systems for now, rather than announcing a permanent end to military aid or a suspension of interceptor deliveries.