Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a dual appeal to Donald Trump and the US Congress for more air defence munitions including Patriot missiles after Russia battered Ukraine with waves of ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian president said the Russian missiles represented Vladimir Putin’s “last major advantage on the battlefield” and neutralising them would force the Russian ruler to negotiate. Russia used 30 ballistic missiles against Ukraine in a massive strike on Sunday, and only 11 of them were shot down, according to Ukraine’s air force. Zelenskyy also said Moscow’s troops launched two nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles.
Ukraine’s only means to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles is US-made interceptors shot by the Patriot air defence system. Throughout four years of war, Kyiv has been short of these interceptors. The US is supposed to be providing them through the European-financed Purl initiative, but the Iran war and Donald Trump’s antipathy to Ukraine have threatened supplies. Ukraine also has the similar SAMP/T interceptor system produced by France and Italy, but Ukrainian authorities say it needs upgrades to shoot down ballistic missiles.
In his letter to Trump and the US Congress, seen by Reuters, Zelenskyy pitched missile defence as a tool to force the Russian president to the negotiating table. “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 … Ukraine is ready to purchase the number of Patriot systems and interceptor missiles we need … The current pace of deliveries through the Purl programme is no longer keeping up with the reality of the threat we face.”
