https://www.rt.com/information/596634-greece-ukraine-patriot-nato/Greece reveals stance on Patriots and S-300s for Ukraine

Athens is not going to provide Kiev with US-made Patriot or Soviet-designed S-300 air protection programs, the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis has mentioned.

Native media reported earlier this week that the nation would possibly present Kiev with no less than one Patriot system, following strain from the EU and NATO on member states to extend help for Ukraine’s authorities because it experiences a scarcity of air protection programs and munitions.

Nonetheless, throughout an interview with outlet Iefimerida on Wednesday, Mitsotakis made it clear that the supply is just not going to occur. “Greece is not going to ship both S-300[s] nor Patriot[s] to Ukraine,” he mentioned.

“We have now mentioned from the beginning that we can’t present weapons programs which might be important to our deterrence functionality,” the prime minister defined.

Athens has supported Kiev “in numerous methods,” together with by offering weapons, through the battle with Russia and can proceed to take action if it finds “surplus materials,” he promised.

However the air defenses in query “are important programs for the safety of Greek airspace and can’t be ceded to Ukraine,” he reiterated.

Along with Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain, Greece is amongst six European nations that function the Patriot programs.

Whereas Berlin has promised to provide one other Patriot to Ukraine, Poland mentioned earlier this week that it has no air protection programs to spare. Spanish day by day El Pais reported on Friday that Madrid will solely present air protection missiles to Kiev, however not the Patriot programs.

In late March, Russia’s Protection Minister Sergey Shoigu mentioned that no less than 5 Patriots operated by Kiev’s forces have been destroyed by the Russian army for the reason that begin of the yr.

NATO Secretary-Basic Jens Stoltenberg mentioned on Wednesday that the decline in deliveries of Western assist in current months has left Ukrainian troops “outgunned, permitting Russia to push ahead on the entrance line.”

“Ukraine has lacked air protection, enabling extra Russian missiles and drones to hit their targets,” he mentioned. Nonetheless, the NATO chief claimed that “it’s not too late for Ukraine to prevail as a result of extra help is on the way in which.”

Russia has repeatedly warned that the deliveries of overseas weapons programs to Kiev is not going to stop Moscow from attaining its army targets, however will merely delay the combating and will improve the chance of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. In keeping with officers in Moscow, the availability of arms, the sharing of intelligence, and the coaching of Ukrainian troops implies that Western nations have already grow to be de-facto events to the battle.