Ukraine finds additional air defense systems and missiles, Foreign Ministry says
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine has managed to secure access to additional air defense systems and missiles from a number of partner countries, according to Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi.
"Every negotiation with partners begins with advancing, first, the decisions achieved by the president and, second, finding the necessary resources and the necessary solutions," Tykhyi said.
He noted that during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the United Kingdom, several new decisions regarding air defense were reached in talks with allies. These decisions now need to be implemented as quickly as possible.
According to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ukraine has managed to find several additional assets — both systems and interceptors — through cooperation with several countries.
He clarified that financial resources are needed for these additional assets, and Ukraine is actively working to secure them.
"Once we finalize everything, we hope there will be an opportunity to quickly deliver these assets — both systems and interceptors," Tykhyi added.
In addition, Ukraine has managed to identify several interceptor missiles that will reach the end of their service life after a certain period of time.
"We are currently engaged in active negotiations to obtain them. After their service life expires, they would be returned to the manufacturer or disposed of, and we are proposing that they be transferred to Ukraine," the spokesperson explained.
Shortage of missiles for the Patriot systems
Earlier, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat reported a severe shortage of missiles for Patriot, NASAMS, and IRIS-T systems.
According to him, ammunition stocks in some units are nearly depleted, and Ukraine needs new deliveries from partners.
At the same time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine has a political agreement on the purchase of additional Patriot systems. However, implementation of the deal is being delayed by financial, legal, and technical issues.
On May 27, Zelenskyy sent an urgent letter to US President Donald Trump and Congress regarding the critical shortage of air defense systems amid intensified Russian attacks.
In the letter, the head of state stressed that the shortage of air defense assets poses a serious threat to civilians because Ukraine does not have sufficient capabilities to intercept ballistic missiles.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptor missiles remain one of the key elements of Ukraine's defense against Russian air attacks. According to him, supplies of these munitions from the United States continue on a regular basis.
At the same time, Ukraine wants to produce Patriot systems together with its partners. A separate area of work has been negotiations with the United States on obtaining a license to manufacture Patriot systems.
