MADRID, Apr. 26 (Reuters) - Spain will send a small number of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, El Pais newspaper reported on Friday, quoting unidentified sources.

Spain ruled out delivering anti-aircraft launchers, but will give Kiev shells, the paper said. The defence ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Spain has three batteries which it purchased second-hand from Germany in 2004 and 2014, El Pais said.

"We need to step up our commitment to Ukraine," a Spanish diplomatic source told foreign reporters on Thursday.

Earlier this month, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told NATO members that Ukraine needed a minimum of seven Patriot or other high-end air defence systems to counter Russian air strikes, urging them to step up their military assistance for Kyiv.

On Monday, European Union ministers said they were looking at how to provide more air defences to Ukraine but they stopped short of concrete pledges of the Patriot systems that Kyiv values most.

Photo from Army Technology