He explained that there is no space for additional defense systems.
"We already provided three [Patriot] systems, that means a quarter of our capacities, so there is no space for providing even more than those three systems ... it is on other partners to provide assistance," Pistorius told reporters ahead of the NATO defense heads' meeting.
The minister said that the air defense system was more crucial than ever before, and he was glad that Germany and its partners — the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway — had provided Ukraine with more missiles for Patriot systems at short notice.
"We are negotiating and discussing every possibility that includes, of course, radar systems, that includes missiles. We are talking to Raytheon, the producer [of Patriot missiles] in the US. We tried everything, but at the end, it is always the same problem - we need time to produce and time to provide. Its not really a challenge for Germany, because we delivered a lot, but others maybe can do more," Pistorius added.
The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict. In April 2022, Russia sent a diplomatic note to all NATO countries on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian strikes.