Zelenskyy: Ukraine ready to buy 10 Patriot system for $15 billion
Ukraine is ready to buy 10 Patriot air defense systems for $15 billion, but at least 10 systems are needed to protect some cities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
"We are ready to buy one system that costs $1.5 billion, but we need at least 10 systems to close (the air space for) some cities… We are ready to pay these $15 billion, we will find this money and pay everything," Zelenskyy said in an interview for CBS News aired on April 13.
According to the president, the second option for protecting Ukraine is licenses for the production of Patriot systems and missiles for them. Zelenskyy said he asked both the Biden and Trump administrations for this.
"We wanted to pay for this, get licenses, and then understand how and in what time frame we can build a full-fledged system to close our skies," Zelenskyy explained.
He added that there are countries where Patriot systems are located, but there are no military operations there. These systems could be transferred to Ukraine.
"We were even ready to receive them (air defense systems) on lease,” the president added.