On September 3, it became officially known that the lower house of the Parliament of Romania supported the draft law, which will provide an opportunity to transfer the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
Points of attention
- Romania plans to transfer one of its two active Patriots to Ukraine.
- Bucharest has its own condition regarding the provision of a new air defense system to Kyiv.
- Romania has already received four Patriot systems, but half of them are currently inoperative.
Ukraine will soon receive Patriot from Romania
Journalists draw attention to the fact that Romania, which has been a member of NATO for the past 20 years, shares a 650 km long border with Ukraine.
In addition, it is emphasized that the wreckage of Russian drones often flew into its territory when the Russian army attacked Ukrainian ports.
It is also important to understand that in this part Ukraine will be separated from Romania by the Danube River.
The day before, the Romanian government sent the relevant law to the parliament for approval. As soon as President Klaus Iohannis signs the draft law, the government will issue an order on the transfer of Patriot to Ukraine, the message says.
As the journalists managed to find out, official Bucharest intends to transfer to Kyiv one of its two operational Patriot systems — one of five such systems and other strategic air defense units promised by NATO countries to Kyiv.
Romania has a condition for providing Patriot to Ukraine
What is important to understand is that this will happen if the Allies later replace it with another Patriot system.
The bill, which was supported by parliament, states that the replacement of the Patriot system from the United States should not cost more than what Romania originally paid for such a unit, and that the costs will be covered by foreign sources that are "non-reimbursable," Reuters writes.
In addition, it is emphasized that Romania signed an agreement for 4 billion for the purchase of Patriot 7 years ago.
As of today, it has received four systems, two of which are in working order.
