Ukraine to receive Patriot PAC-3 interceptors after intense effort, Zelenskyy says
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
Ukraine will soon receive a new batch of Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles. But this is still not enough, so the country has to work hard to get it, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.
"One shipment is on its way. I won’t say when. One shipment of PAC-3 missiles - we’ve agreed on that. And of course, with each of these countries, we’re discussing more than just the PURL. It’s an official program, and it’s working, but it’s not enough," Zelenskyy says.
He notes that PURL involves a certain number of missiles per month, all of which are paid for by European and other countries, but that’s not enough. Russia is launching twice as many missiles as we’re receiving under the PURL program.
"That’s why there are also alternative packages that we don’t officially discuss—you have to work hard to get them out of each country. And so, we’ve managed to get 5, 10, or 20 missiles from each country, bit by bit, so that Ukraine can survive," the President explains.
According to him, the only correct option is an alternative to the PAC-3.
"I think that in the coming weeks, maybe even as soon as next week, we’ll try to bring together the countries that have now joined the anti-ballistic coalition. They’re manufacturing components for our future Freya anti-ballistic system," Zelenskyy adds.
Ukraine in critical need of anti-ballistic systems
To defend against Russian aggression, Ukraine lacks air defense systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. Ukraine is currently urgently requesting Patriot missiles from 40 countries. The missiles are being requested in exchange for future deliveries already contracted for Ukraine.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force reported a critical shortage of missiles for the Patriot, NASAMS, and IRIS-T air defense systems. In some units, ammunition stocks are nearly depleted.
Serhii Beskrestnov, an advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, also stated that Ukraine had no missiles capable of intercepting Russian ballistic targets.
He also explained that countries sharing a border with Russia themselves assess the threat from Russia as high and are therefore unwilling to transfer their own stocks of such munitions to Ukraine. Among them is Germany, in particular.
Ukraine and Germany are developing a joint air defense system to protect the entire European continent. The project will enable the interception of ballistic missiles, a capability that European countries currently lack.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump stated that the United States would grant Ukraine the right to manufacture Patriot air defense missile systems.
