On Thursday, Mitsotakis told the Greek TV SKAI that Greece will not send either the “Patriot” or the “S-300” to Ukraine, despite European demands and the critical deficiency that Ukraine has in the area of air defense.
“Greece has supported Ukraine in various ways, providing defense material. But we have said from the first moment that we cannot give up weapons systems that are crucial to our deterrence capabilities. We were asked and we clarified why we cannot do that.” , Mitsotakis said, as reported by the Yefimerida portal.
According to Mitsotakis, sending that equipment to Ukraine would pose too great a risk to Greek air security.
“We have excess material with which we can support Ukraine, that’s what we did and I believe that’s the right choice. And if we can find more, we will continue to do so. But the air defense systems are crucial for the protection of Greek airspace and will not be sent to Ukraine Mitsotakis emphasized.
Greek media announced on April 22 that Athens plans to send at least one “Patriot” to Ukraine, following the European Union’s suggestions to member states to increase air defense assistance to Kyiv.
