Ukraine receives Patriot air defence system from Romania

The Patriot anti-aircraft missile system that Bucharest pledged to transfer to Kyiv has arrived in Ukraine.

The decision to transfer the Patriot system to Ukraine was finally approved by the Romanian authorities last month.

"We confirm that the Patriot system has arrived in Ukraine," Constantin Spînu, spokesperson for Romania's Defence Ministry, said in a comment to Radio Liberty.

In addition, on 2 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude via Twitter to all countries assisting in supplying Ukraine with air defence systems.

"A special thanks to Romania for the Patriot systems. Together, we can achieve even greater efficiency – we can put an end to Russian terror by jointly taking down Shaheds and missiles," he tweeted.

In total, Kyiv's NATO allies have pledged seven air defence systems; however, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba previously indicated that the delivery of some of the promised Patriot systems was being delayed.