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“We Have No Right to Weaken Support”: Germany’s Defense Minister Pledges $400 Million for Ukraine
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Germany will allocate an additional $200 million to buy PAC-3 interceptor missiles for Ukraine's Patriot air defense systems, in addition to a fourth $200 million contribution through the US-funded PURL weapons mechanism, according to UNITED24 Media correspondents on June 18.
Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, announced the pledges during a doorstep interview with reporters at the NATO Defense Ministers Meeting, ahead of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), also known as the Ramstein Group.
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"We have no right to weaken our support for Ukraine even for a second, and on behalf of Germany, I can say that we are not doing so," Pistorius declared. He stressed that the financing saves lives every day and night by keeping Ukraine's air defenses supplied.
The PAC-3 commitment answers a request from Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov to support the Jumpstart program, which finances guided missiles for Patriot batteries, Pistorius explained.
The PURL contribution, Germany's fourth, funds American weapons and munitions that Ukraine urgently needs but Europe does not produce, primarily ammunition for air defense systems.
"We are demonstrating leadership, we understand what Ukraine needs, and we are calling on other members of the Contact Group to join in financing the purchase of PAC-3 missiles," Pistorius noted.
The PAC-3 is the hit-to-kill interceptor in the Patriot family, destroying incoming targets by direct impact rather than a fragmentation blast. That capability makes it the primary tool against the ballistic missiles Russia fires at Ukrainian cities, leaving interceptor stocks under constant strain.
Pistorius, who visited Ukraine weeks earlier, including Zaporizhzhia near the front line, assessed that Ukrainian forces are successfully defending and, in places, reclaiming occupied ground. Despite the continued terror campaign waged by the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, against civilians, he added that Russian troops are barely advancing and suffering heavy losses, leaving the initiative with Ukraine.
The pledges align with the priorities Kyiv laid out just days earlier. Ahead of the NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels, Fedorov named Patriot interceptor missiles through the Jumpstart mechanism and contributions to PURL among Ukraine's most urgent needs, casting anti-ballistic defense as the top requirement.
Germany's role in reinforcing Ukraine's air defenses has been deepening for months. In May, Pistorius toured Ukrainian air defense positions and a Kyiv energy site damaged by Russian strikes.
Ukrainian officials there insisted on additional Patriot interceptors and continued PURL financing, part of a drive to build a sovereign European anti-ballistic capability.
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