Ukraine-Russia war latest: UK intelligence suggests almost half a million Russian soldiers have died in Putin’s invasion
Volodymyr Zelensky has written an urgent letter to Donald Trump warning of an impending shortage of Ukraine’s critical air defences, it has been reported.
In the note seen by the Kyiv Independent, the Ukrainian president said Europe cannot keep pace with the number of US-produced Patriot missiles needed and asked his US counterpart for help, adding ballistic missiles remain Moscow’s “last major advantage on the battlefield.”
Ukraine’s only means to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles is US-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 in his letter, President Zelensky warned the pace of deliveries is “no longer keeping up with the reality of the threat we face.”
“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.
It comes as Russia intensifies its attacks from above and threatened a new wave of long-range strikes on Kyiv.
