Depletion of stocks in Poland
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that the Republic of Poland no longer has reserve missiles for Patriot air defence systems that could be transferred to Ukraine. He provided this information in an interview with the pap.pl agency, answering questions regarding the prospects of military support from European Union countries and Warsaw against the backdrop of the near-total depletion of Ukraine’s ammunition stocks for air defence systems.
Shortage in the context of threats
The head of the Polish Foreign Ministry emphasised that the severity of the problem with the shortage of interceptor missiles has significantly intensified following the attacks on Iran. He stressed that the Russian Federation produces more missiles than the North Atlantic Alliance countries have means to intercept, calling this situation a “serious problem”.
According to Sikorski, within NATO there are states that have missiles for Patriot systems in their arsenal, but Poland does not belong to their number.
Appeal to alliance colleagues
“Poland provides Ukraine with the maximum possible support, however, in this specific case, we can only join the appeals to those states that have missiles for Patriot to share them with Ukraine,” the minister added.
Financial aspects and frozen assets
In addition to the issue of armaments, Sikorski focused on financial support instruments. He noted that the European Union’s credit limit of 90 billion euros has not yet been fully exhausted.
At the same time, the diplomat expressed the conviction that sooner or later European leaders will be forced to return to the discussion regarding the transfer of frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia to Ukraine. However, in his opinion, reaching a compromise in the EU on this issue before the winter period is unlikely.
“However, the European Commission is working on finding non-standard solutions so that Belgium (which is blocking the agreement) does not feel alone with the risk of claims from Russia,” he said.
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