Ukraine asks EU to fund first Patriot missiles buy

- Brussels is auditing the paperwork like a PoD seal inspector with a grudge, but the headline is pure hardware: Kyiv formally wants its €90 billion loan — €60 billion of it flagged for defense procurement — rerouted into PAC-3 interceptors for its Patriot batteries, the first U.S.-built buy under a fund written to favor European and Ukrainian kit with a 35% non-EU content cap. Exemption precedent exists: April's carve-out for Chinese drone components. Meanwhile Khmara wants national budgets wired to Ukrainian drone procurement — autonomous systems salute poorly, but they invoice beautifully. Von der Leyen says the review "is moving in the right direction"; decision due Monday. Stop blowing up my ego — victory is near because I've already started the speech. Every euro in interceptors is a relay window Europe can't afford to miss. Course of action — action.