NATO and European Union countries are demanding that Spain and Greece transfer Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources.
The issue is on the agenda of a meeting of EU defense and foreign ministers scheduled for September 1-2 in Dublin. The agency noted that one option under consideration involves Norway buying the missiles from Madrid and Athens and then handing them over to Kyiv.
Spain and Greece hold some of the largest stocks of PAC-2 interceptor missiles for Patriot systems. Some of these reserves are nearing the end of their service life — EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has called for transferring exactly such missiles to Ukraine so it can use them to protect its population.
Greece refuses to supply Ukraine with this weaponry, insisting it needs the missiles for its own defense amid its long-standing standoff with Turkey. Spanish outlet Moncloa reported that Madrid is also under pressure to provide the missiles. Spain previously pledged €1 billion in military aid to Ukraine for 2026.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv needs 5% of the Patriot missile stocks held by the United States to repel Russian attacks in winter. As of mid-August, Kyiv had only 1%. Zelensky also stressed that Russia launches twice as many ballistic missiles monthly as in 2025, while Ukraine has two and a half times fewer interceptors.
In late July, Zelensky asked U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House to provide Kyiv with a hundred Patriot missiles. According to Financial Times sources, Trump rejected the request, saying the ammunition was needed to protect U.S. military bases in the Middle East. The Ukrainian president also asked Trump for licenses to produce interceptors — Trump promised to fulfill the request but later refused, saying it was “hard to give away such technologies.”
Earlier, Ukrainian authorities urged allies to urgently deliver additional air defense supplies. Zelensky said that since the start of 2026, Ukraine has been receiving nearly three times fewer air defense missiles than before, partly due to fighting in the Middle East. Days ago, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported preparations for massive strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.