Washington's call to Athens: Shift of Patriots to Ukraine

The Americans justify their request by emphasising the need to increase Europe's responsibility for arms supplies to Ukraine. Analysts from Defence Express highlight the paradox of the United States pressuring Greece to bolster Ukraine while potentially weakening Saudi Arabia in the face of threats such as missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Houthis.

This situation could relate to plans to sell American weapons to Saudi Arabia for up to 100 billion dollars (75 billion pounds), as reported by Reuters. The deal is expected to be announced during Donald Trump's planned trip to Saudi Arabia from 13th to 16th May.

According to analysts from Defence Express, the Greek armed forces have six Patriot system batteries at their disposal. These were purchased with PAC-2 missiles, but there are plans to upgrade them to the PAC-3 standard, enhancing the system's capabilities by allowing it to intercept ballistic missiles.

This solution is most beneficial from Ukraine's perspective because it complements other Western systems, which, although effective against other targets, do not deal with ballistic missiles.

Ukraine's UNITED24 Media notes that Greece provides Ukraine with military, humanitarian, and diplomatic support, often doing so cautiously to avoid escalating tensions with Russia.

So far, the Greeks have supplied the Ukrainian army with BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, rifles, ammunition, and various rocket launchers. From Kyiv's perspective, Greece is a valuable ally because it is one of the last Western countries that still possesses Russian weaponry, including air defence systems. This allows Ukraine to acquire additional missiles for systems like the S-300 or Tor-M1 from Greece. However, Athens has denied transferring S-300 air defence systems or Mirage 2000-5 and F-16 fighters to Ukraine.