NATO Top Commander: Patriots Must Move From European Allies To Kyiv 'As Quickly As Possible’

NATO’s top military commander, US Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, announced Thursday that efforts are underway to expedite the delivery of additional Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, amid nightly waves of drone and missile attacks which are regularly in the hundreds.

„We’re working closely with the Germans on transferring the Patriots,” Grynkewich said during a major defense conference in Wiesbaden, Germany happening this week. „The directive I’ve received is to act as swiftly as possible.”

Grynkewich emphasized that timing and logistics are key concerns in getting the systems delivered to Ukraine. „As Secretary of State Marco Rubio pointed out, existing systems in Europe can be deployed faster than those coming off production lines,” he explained. „Those new units can then replace the ones sent to Ukraine.”

Source: Stars and Stripes

Last year controversy was unleashed among European allies when NATO command leaned hard on countries like Spain and Greece to give up their Patriot systems for the cause of Ukraine – and Greece immediately balked, given it sees itself as under constant threat from Turkey.

Grynkewich did admit that it’s still unclear how many Patriot batteries can be made available. „There’s more to come -we’re moving as fast as we can,” the commander added.

President Donald Trump has lately expressed disgust at the record numbers of suicide drones striking Ukrainian cities. While he has not approved long-range offensive weapons for Kiev, he has indicated readiness to ramp up anti-air defense systems.

On Tuesday, Trump did confirm that some Patriots sourced from Germany were already en route to Ukraine.

Following a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth earlier in the week, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius signaled that a final decision on sending two additional US Patriot systems to Ukraine could be reached within days or weeks. Earlier in the conflict Berlin had already supplied three of its Patriot batteries to the Ukrainians.

The Raytheon-made system is seen by Ukraine’s military as the most vital system in its arsenal to protect against ongoing Russian aerial attacks.

In another part of Grynkewich speech, he highlighted the possibility of a joint China-Russia attack meant to bog down European forces, as China takes Taiwan:

The U.S.-led NATO alliance must prepare for the possibility that Russia and China could launch wars in Europe and the Pacific simultaneously, with 2027 being a potential flashpoint year, the top American commander in Europe said Thursday.

“We’re going to need every bit of kit and equipment and munitions that we can in order to beat that,” Grynkewich said. If China’s President Xi Jinping makes a move on Taiwan, he likely would coordinate such an attack with Russian President Vladimir Putin, opening the possibility of a global conflict, he said. “That, to me, means that both of these things could happen together,” said Grynkewich, who also serves as NATO supreme allied commander.

But there’s an obvious contradiction present in a speech where he’s on the one hand saying the West needs to get Ukraine all the defensive systems it needs as fast as possible, and on the other the West must be prepared for conflict with both China and Russia within a few short years.

Despite the glaring policy contradictions, in the end, Raytheon and the major defense contractors will win again.