Ukraine exhausts Patriot missiles as Trump-Zelensky tensions escalate
Collected Photo
Ukraine has exhausted its supply of missiles for the US-made Patriot air defense system, leaving the nation significantly more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missile strikes, a source familiar with the situation told CNN on Thursday.
This unfolds amid a growing public feud between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Recently, the White House struck a widely criticized agreement to import Russian diesel while exerting increasing pressure on Kyiv to halt strikes against Russian oil infrastructure.
Zelensky said he felt betrayed by Trump’s agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin and subsequently announced that Ukraine would continue targeting Russian refineries. For months, Zelensky has repeatedly warned that Ukraine is running out of US-made Patriot interceptor missiles, which serve as one of the few defensive weapons capable of knocking down ballistic missiles.
However, these interceptors remain both expensive and in short supply globally, as other nations have depleted their stockpiles or sought to reinforce their own defense networks amid the war in Iran.
Regarding the recent bombardment, the source told CNN that “almost all the ballistic missiles from the last strike were not intercepted due to lack of the (interceptor) missiles.” Russian ballistic missiles struck three power plants in Kyiv and targeted energy infrastructure in Kharkiv during that attack, which occurred overnight into Wednesday morning.
The assault killed four people and injured 25 others in Kyiv on that day. The Ukrainian Air Force previously stated that it intercepted four Russian ballistic missiles while defending against that attack, indicating that it deployed its final remaining Patriot stockpiles.
Observers do not consider this the first instance where Ukraine has completely exhausted its Patriot interceptor inventory, as Zelensky has publicly spoken about his constant struggle to secure additional stocks.
In mid-August, CNN became the first news outlet granted access to a Patriot system inside Ukrainian territory, where Ukrainian officials revealed that the country had virtually run out of interceptors.
Zelensky told CNN in August that he spends his days conducting “millions” of phone calls with allies to negotiate deals for more Patriots, revealing at that time that Ukraine possessed merely one-tenth of the interceptor missiles it urgently needed.
A month later, the Ukrainian president adopted a more optimistic tone by claiming that the country “will receive a license to manufacture Patriot missiles” from the US.
However, Trump ultimately declined to state whether he agreed to that plan, and a manufacturing license never materialized. Tensions between Zelensky and Trump escalated further in recent days following Washington’s request that Kyiv stop attacking Russian fuel facilities, even as Moscow continued to pummel Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
In a fiery interview with the Financial Times, Zelensky asserted that he could agree to halt energy strikes on Russia only if allies provided additional Patriot interceptors at a “minimum”. He added that “when he asked for more air defenses the American response was to weaken Starlink’s service.”
In a public statement on Wednesday, Zelensky pleaded once again for additional inventory, saying, “The American president has all the effective and necessary tools to bring peace closer through strength, justice, and pressure on the aggressor. We ask for additional packages of Patriot missile interceptors for Ukraine.”
Ahead of the US midterm elections, Trump has increasingly blamed the rise in global diesel prices on the Ukraine-Russia war, despite the war in Iran playing a more significant role in driving fuel price spikes.
Earlier this week, two European officials disclosed to CNN that the Trump administration issued warnings to Ukraine and European allies. The State Department and the Pentagon sent these warnings over the weekend directly to officials in Ukraine and Europe - including direct communications from the US military to Ukrainian commanders - saying the US could suspend European purchases of US arms and halt intelligence sharing for Ukraine if Kyiv does not stop deep strikes on Russian energy facilities.
Trump has since insisted that the US has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. However, if the administration decides to suspend European weapons purchases under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism, that move would threaten any future shipments of Patriot interceptors used to defend against ballistic missiles.
Source: CNN (adapted)
