The US military is transferring some 90 Patriot air defense missile interceptors from storage in Israel to be used in Ukraine against Russian strikes, according to a new report.
The Patriot missile launchers have arrived in Poland, with plans to be refurbished, following months of negotiations between the US, Ukraine and Israel, sources with knowledge of the transfer told Axios.
The deal was finalized in September after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly refused to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a favor to appease religious pilgrims until he finally approved the transfer.
The Patriot defense system, which was first given to Israel more than 30 years ago during the first Gulf War, is a mobile interceptor surface-to-air missile system that targets and destroys enemy rocket fire before it hits its intended target.
The Patriot was eventually replaced by Israel’s own missile defense systems, including the Iron Dome, with the American-made launchers and batteries officially decommissioned in April 2024.
With the Patriot missiles sent to storage or training, Kyiv approached the US and Israel on the matter of sending the defense weapons to Ukraine.
Israel allegedly dragged its feet on the issue, likely fearing that Russia could retaliate against the Jewish state if news got out that a weapon in their custody found its way to Ukraine.
At the time of the proposal, Israel was fighting a two-front war in Gaza and Lebanon, with fears boiling that an all-out war would break out with Iran.
Israel allegedly informed Russia ahead of the transfer that it was only “returning the Patriot system to the US,” and that it was America’s decision to do what it wanted with the weapons.
Netanyahu finally agreed to the deal in September after asking Zelensky for approval to allow ultra-Orthodox Israelis to make their annual pilgrimage to the Ukrainian city of Uman, where the famed Rabbi Nachman is buried.
Zelensky allegedly refused to take Netanyahu’s call on the matter until he approved the Patriot deal, a Ukrainian official told Axios.
Netanyahu’s office denied allegations that the pilgrimage was related to the transferring of the Patriot system.
