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US cannot provide enough missiles for Gulf states and Ukraine: EU commissioner
Demand for US Patriot missiles from Ukraine and Gulf states exceeds annual US production capacity, prompting urgent calls to boost European missile manufacturing, EU commissioner said.
On Friday, EU defence and space commissioner Andrius Kubilius said the United States cannot provide enough missiles to Gulf states and Ukraine at a joint press conference with Polish defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.
Ukraine needs around 700 Patriot, PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles for winter, matching American manufacturers' annual production, and Kubilius linked this to urgency after the Iranian crisis.
Kubilius warned Europe faces a "huge challenge" developing anti-missile defences and said Ukraine's needs are "immense," urging urgent increases in missile production.
Zelensky recently proposed Gulf states exchange Patriot missiles for Ukrainian drone interceptors to defend against Iranian drone attacks.
Faced with constrained US output, EU defence and space commissioner Kubilius urged rapid European missile production, describing the situation as "really critical".