The United States has moved about 90 Patriot air defence interceptors from storage in Israel to Poland, where they will be sent to Ukraine, according to sources close to the operation. This transfer is part of the Pentagon's efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence to protect against Russian attacks on important infrastructure. This is the largest transfer of weapons from Israel to Ukraine since Russia began its full-scale invasion almost three years ago.

In April 2023, the Israeli Air Force officially retired the Patriot air defence system, which had been in service for over 30 years, starting from the Gulf War. Israel now depends on its own advanced air defence systems, like the Iron Dome, so the Patriot system was mostly used for training or stored away. After its retirement, Ukrainian officials reached out to both the U.S. and Israel with a request to send the missiles back to the U.S. for repairs and then deliver them to Ukraine, according to Axios. Israel initially postponed its decision because it was worried that Russia could respond by giving advanced weapons to Iran. A Ukrainian official mentioned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu avoided talking about the proposal for several weeks. 

However, Netanyahu is said to have approved the transfer in late September. A Ukrainian official claimed that Netanyahu asked President Volodymyr Zelensky for a concession regarding the annual pilgrimage of ultra-Orthodox Israelis to Uman, Ukraine, before agreeing to the Patriot missile deal. Netanyahu’s office has denied any link between the two matters. To prepare for the transfer, U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo planes recently transported the interceptors from an air base in southern Israel to Rzeszów, Poland, which is a key logistics centre for military aid to Ukraine. In addition to the interceptors, other equipment like radars will be sent to the U.S. for refurbishment before being delivered to Ukraine. These interceptors are compatible with the Patriot batteries that are already in operation in Ukraine. 

An Israeli official stated that Russia was notified ahead of time about the transfer, explaining that Israel was simply returning the Patriots to the U.S., not directly supplying weapons to Ukraine. The official compared this action to the earlier U.S. decision to send artillery shells from Israel’s storage to Ukraine. A spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office confirmed the return of the Patriot system to the U.S. but added that they didn’t know if the interceptors were sent to Ukraine.