Volodymyr Zelensky stated in an interview with CNN that the number of interceptors this year is two and a half times less than in 2025, and that Russia launches twice as many ballistic missiles monthly as before.
Zelensky specified that one-tenth of the current US reserves would be sufficient to prevent all Russian missile attacks, but 5% of these reserves would be enough for Ukraine to survive the winter. He emphasized: 'If the United States sells us 5%, we can survive the winter and save lives. If they sell us 10%, we will destroy all Russian ballistic missiles.'
According to the EFE agency, attacks by Russian ballistic missiles have intensified in recent weeks and reached the capital, Kyiv, with particular intensity at a time when Ukraine's Patriot interceptor stocks were nearly depleted. The Ukrainian president noted: 'There are attacks every night, and four or five times a month we have mass attacks. These are terrible nights.'
Earlier, at the NATO summit in Turkey in early July, US President Donald Trump told Zelensky that he would grant Ukraine permission to produce its own missiles for Patriot systems. However, later, after a meeting at the White House, Trump stated that he was unsure whether he would allow Ukraine to manufacture these missiles.
In his CNN interview, Volodymyr Zelensky explained that due to the approaching winter, he is making efforts to obtain air defense systems capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. Furthermore, the war between the US and Iran is causing a missile shortage, which directly affects Ukraine, which depends on the US for Patriot missiles.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is trying to acquire the Patriot missile system for Ukraine, but according to German press reports, without success.
