Greece, Spain will refuse to send Ukraine air defense systems

Allies had been hopeful that Spain could be one of the donors, as Kyiv attempts to fend off Russian leader Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion.

Meanwhile, Athens is also refusing to pledge a system given its security concerns with Turkey. "Greece is not going to send S-300 or Patriot to Ukraine," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during an interview on domestic station Skai TV late Thursday, according to Reuters.

In recent days, Greek media had reported that an exchange deal may be possible, through which the United States would agree to replace either a Patriot system based in Athens or an idle Soviet-era S-300 system stationed on the island of Crete so they could be shipped to Ukraine.

"We were asked and we explained why we cannot do it," Mitsotakis said, explaining that the systems are "critical to our deterrent capability."

Germany, which has promised Ukraine three of its Patriot batteries, has led the charge to lobby countries to donate their unused systems. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this week he "expects" countries to make the pledge, adding that he "could not understand" the refusal by the likes of Spain and Greece.

On Friday, around 50 countries will meet via videoconference for U.S.-led talks on coordinating further military aid. Along with Spain, Greece and Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Poland have Patriot systems in their inventories.