President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has formally asked U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress to help Ukraine replenish and expand its air-defence inventory, focusing specifically on Patriot systems and the U.S.-made interceptor missiles required to defeat ballistic threats.
In a letter addressed to President Trump and lawmakers in Washington, Zelenskiy emphasized the urgency of bolstering Ukraine’s capacity to counter Russian ballistic missiles, calling them Moscow’s "last major advantage on the battlefield." He said Ukraine is prepared to purchase the quantity of Patriot systems and interceptors it needs.
Ukraine relies on U.S.-manufactured interceptors for the Patriot air-defence system as its sole means to intercept Russian ballistic missiles. Zelenskiy noted that Kyiv has experienced a chronic shortage of interceptors throughout the four years of war, and warned that the Iran war has the potential to further strain available resources.
Since the start of Donald Trump’s presidency, Ukraine has been procuring Patriot missiles through NATO’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, with financing provided by European allies. Zelenskiy argued in his letter that "the current pace of deliveries through the PURL program is no longer keeping up with the reality of the threat we face."
Highlighting the human and strategic costs, he wrote: "For us - for a nation fighting for its survival - there is hardly anything more painful to see than Patriot batteries with no missiles loaded."
The appeal follows a recent large-scale Russian strike during which Moscow launched 30 ballistic missiles, of which Ukraine’s air force reported only 11 were shot down. Zelenskiy also said that two of the projectiles used in that attack were nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic Oreshnik missiles - one of which struck the Kyiv region, while another reportedly fell in temporarily occupied territory in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
In the same letter, Zelenskiy reviewed Ukraine’s efforts to resist Russia’s full-scale aggression, now well into its fifth year, and expressed gratitude for past U.S. assistance. He reiterated his central argument: "But as long as Putin still has even one meaningful advantage in conventional weapons, he will avoid conventional diplomacy. Today, his ballistic missiles remain exactly that - his last major advantage on the battlefield."
Summary of immediate points and context:
- Zelenskiy has requested Patriot systems and interceptors directly from the U.S. president and Congress, offering to purchase needed equipment.
- Ukraine depends on U.S.-made Patriot interceptors as its only way to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles.
- Recent strikes involved 30 ballistic missiles, with 11 reported shot down; two were identified as nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles.