A Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan strategic heavy-lift cargo plane flew on Tuesday from Tel Aviv, Israel to Leipzig, Germany, carrying containers outwardly identical to containers used by the Israeli military to transport Patriot interceptor missiles – an air defense weapon critically needed by Ukraine to defend homes and cities from Russian bombardment.
Air traffic watch groups recorded and published images of Antonov Airlines’ aircraft tail identifier UR-82029 taking aboard a 12-meter (39-foot) militarized shipping container visually matching specialized containers used by the IDF to transport the MIM-104 Patriot PAC-2 surface-to-air missiles.
The US-made Patriot air defense system is Ukraine’s longest-ranged air defense system and the only weapon the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) has in inventory capable of intercepting hard-to-hit ballistic missiles. The older munition for the Patriot is called a PAC-2, and an upgraded interceptor missile is called a PAC-3.
Russia, on average, fires 30-40 ballistic missiles flying a high, near-space trajectory at speeds above Mach 5, making the weapon carrying a high explosive warhead weighing between 480 and 750 kilograms (1,058 and 1,653 pounds) difficult to stop. Most often, Russian ballistic missiles fired at Ukraine target energy infrastructure or civilian homes and businesses. PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptor missiles are the only defensive system in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) inventory, capable of intercepting a Russian ballistic missile.
The An-124 landed at Leipzig Halle at about 5 p.m. local time after taking off from Ben Gurion airport, data published by the air traffic information platform FlightRadar showed.
A Kyiv Post review of FlightRadar and other air traffic data sites found a record of a second Ukrainian An-124 departing Leipzig Halle for Lublin, an eastern Polish city near Ukraine’s western border, about 30 minutes after the An-124 UR-82029 arrived from Israel.
It was not possible to determine the links, if any, between the two Ukrainian heavy cargo flights. However, Ukraine’s military has routinely used An-124 aircraft for rapid delivery of Western arms and supplies for more than three years, and both Leipzig and Lublin have served as hubs in that supply chain.
Ukraine’s Army General Staff (AGS) in a Wednesday Telegram report of the cargo flight said “probably” PAC-2 missiles, an older, less-capable Patriot munition, were being sent by Israel for delivery to Ukraine’s armed forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sept. 27 said that Israel had agreed to transfer Patriot air defense systems and interceptor missiles for those systems to Ukraine, and that a single system had been in operation in Ukraine for a month.
Speaking to Kyiv reporters, Zelensky said: “I can’t tell you (media) everything precisely about that (but) an Israeli system is operating in Ukraine. Now for a month. Two (more) Patriot systems will receive in the fall. Let’s leave it at that. I won’t say anything more about Patriots.”
Some Ukrainian media reported Zelensky’s comments confirmed Ukraine would soon receive two Patriot systems from Israel. Closely read, the Ukrainian leader’s statement left the incoming systems’ origins unspecified.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, in Monday’s comments at a Warsaw security conference, said that Germany, with partial funding from Norway, will supply Ukraine with two additional Patriot systems, adding to the three Berlin has already donated to Ukraine.
The number and location of Patriot systems operated by the AFU are military secrets. According to open sources, AFU air defense units currently probably operate six fully functional Patriot systems, with two more most likely under repair for battle damage or not on combat status because of crew training. Zelensky in 2024 estimated that Ukraine would need at least 17 and probably around 24 Patriot systems to close its airspace completely to Russian aircraft, drones, and missiles.
Costing about $1.5 billion each, a single Patriot system typically consists of a command vehicle, a radar vehicle, a power and support vehicle, and four missile launchers. Each launcher is loaded with four, older PAC-2 missiles or sixteen more modern PAC-3 missiles. The reported cost of a PAC-2 missile is $3-4 million, and a PAC-3 $5-7 million.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US, Germany, Norway, Romania, and the Netherlands have led the international effort to deliver Patriot air defense systems to the AFU.
Ukrainian stocks of the PAC-2 interceptor missile and its upgraded model, the PAC-3, have fallen to critically low levels since the US, at the time citing a perceived opportunity for a peace deal with the Kremlin, stopped supporting Ukraine with donated arms and military materials in February 2025.
On July 2, the Pentagon announced it was halting deliveries to Ukraine of Patriot interceptor missiles, 155mm artillery shells, Hellfire anti-tank missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and GMLRS precision-guided artillery rockets because of depleted US stockpiles. The halt also stopped deliveries to US allies in NATO.The White House, in August, blaming Kremlin reluctance to come to the peace table, announced it would allow limited arms sales of US military equipment to Ukraine, provided the money is paid up front, and the items bought do not reduce US weapons inventories significantly. US President Donald J. Trump said the sales would be made with a 15% markup fee to increase US profits.
Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky, in a June interview with Ukrainian media, said Israel had transferred 1990s-era Patriot air defense systems no longer in use by the IDF to Ukraine. The Israeli Foreign Ministry, a few days later, denied the transfer had taken place. Ukrainian military analysts later reported Israel had sent at least two systems to the US for refurbishment, after which they would be sent to Ukraine. Those reports have yet to be officially confirmed.