Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked the United States for more Patriot interceptor missiles, saying 5% of the current US stockpile could help Ukraine survive the winter, while 10% could allow Kyiv to destroy all Russian ballistic missiles, CNN reported Thursday, Aug. 13. Zelensky said Ukraine currently has only 1% of the Patriot interceptors it needs, while Russia has sharply increased the number of ballistic missiles it launches each month.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “If they can sell us 5%, we will go through the winter and save people’s lives. If they can sell us 10%, we will destroy all the Russians’ ballistic missiles. I have 1%,” Zelensky said. Russia is launching more ballistic missiles Zelensky said Ukraine’s interceptor stocks have fallen sharply compared with last year, while Russia has increased the intensity of its ballistic missile attacks. “This year we have two and a half times less interceptors than we had in 2025. Russia has two times more ballistic missiles per month than they had before,” he said. The shortage is particularly dangerous ahead of winter, when Russia is expected to intensify attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022, according to the United Nations. Zelensky said Russian attacks now include several particularly heavy bombardments each month, leaving Ukrainian air defenses under increasing pressure. “There are terrible nights. Very heroic, very resilient people really. But they are tired,” he said.