Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked U.S. President Donald Trump for an emergency 'winter package' of 300 Patriot interceptor missiles to defend energy infrastructure from Russian ballistic strikes, Zelensky said in an interview with Axios.
Zelensky said Ukraine's stockpile of such interceptors is nearly exhausted, leaving the military unable to shoot down ballistic missiles. Trump promised to try to help but indicated it would be difficult because the Patriot systems are also being used in the U.S. conflict with Iran, Zelensky noted.
The PAC-3 missiles were needed 'yesterday,' Zelensky said, citing data that Russia uses 30 to 40 ballistic missiles in each major strike and launches three to five such attacks per month. During a massive attack on Kyiv on the night of July 6, Ukraine's Armed Forces failed to shoot down a single anti-ship or ballistic missile out of 29 launched due to a lack of Patriot missiles, he added.
The White House meeting also discussed granting Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot interceptors domestically. However, even if a license is obtained, producing the required number of missiles would take one to five years, Zelensky said.
According to Forbes Ukraine, as of February 27 the U.S. had 2,330 Patriot interceptors. By the time of the April 8 ceasefire, the stockpile had fallen to 1,030. After hostilities resumed, by July 27 the U.S. was estimated to have between 759 and 827 interceptors remaining.
Zelensky also met with representatives of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, the manufacturers of the PAC-3 missiles. He said Ukraine is ready to share any military technology or experience the U.S. might need to obtain the missiles.