Reuters
[Photo Credit: Reuters]
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged U.S. President Donald Trump to help Ukraine with air defence systems and interceptors as Russia threatens new strikes, saying that ballistic missiles remain Moscow’s “last major advantage on the battlefield.”
In a letter to Trump and the U.S. Congress, seen by Reuters, Zelenskiy said: “I ask for your help in protecting Ukraine’s skies from Russian missiles. We have already proposed that Ukraine is ready to purchase the number of Patriot systems and interceptor missiles we need.”
Ukraine’s only means to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles is U.S.-made interceptors for the Patriot air defence system. Throughout four years of war, Kyiv has been short of interceptors, but the Iran war has threatened to make resources even more scarce.
Since Trump took office, Ukraine has been purchasing Patriot missiles through NATO’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, financed by its European allies.
“But the current pace of deliveries through the PURL program is no longer keeping up with the reality of the threat we face,” Zelenskiy said in his letter.
“For us – for a nation fighting for its survival – there is hardly anything more painful to see than Patriot batteries with no missiles loaded,” he added.
