Western allies are increasingly reluctant to part with interceptor missiles they may need for their own security as conflicts continue across multiple regions.
For much of the war, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s requests for additional air defense systems from Western partners were successful. His diplomatic efforts helped convince Washington to provide Ukraine with its first U.S.-made Patriot air defense system in 2023, followed by several more supplied by allied nations over the following years.
Now, as Ukraine faces the heaviest Russian missile campaign of the conflict, Mr. Zelensky’s latest appeals are receiving far less support.
Following another deadly strike on Kyiv early Wednesday, during which the capital had no protection against Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles, Mr. Zelensky outlined the situation. In a statement, he said deliveries of air defense missiles from Western partners this year had “dropped threefold compared with 2025.”
Ukraine’s allies “do have the missiles,” he said, but “the necessary political decisions” to transfer them and increase production have still not been made.
Recently, Mr. Zelensky has emphasized the human cost of the shortage, arguing that every additional interceptor missile saves lives. However, his appeals have become less effective because the geopolitical landscape has changed.
Western governments are now more cautious about giving up missiles that could be needed for their own national defense as wars continue on several fronts, including in the Middle East, where ongoing fighting has reduced global stockpiles.
Even if Ukraine’s allies fully responded to Mr. Zelensky’s requests, they would still struggle to meet the country’s needs. Russia is manufacturing ballistic missiles at a faster pace than Western countries can produce the interceptor missiles designed to destroy them.
.jpg)
According to a New York Times analysis of Ukrainian Air Force figures, Russia has launched 650 ballistic missiles at Ukraine so far this year. That exceeds the total number of PAC-3 interceptor missiles — the advanced system most capable of stopping ballistic missiles — that U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin delivered worldwide during all of last year.
“The situation today is more critical than at any point since the start of the war,” Yehor Cherniev, deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s defense and intelligence committee, wrote in a text message.
“There was a time when we lacked antiballistic missile capabilities, but Russia also did not possess such a large number of ballistic missiles,” he added. “Today, however, Kyiv is subjected to massive strikes several times a week, and we are unable to shoot down a single missile.”
The two most recent large-scale Russian missile attacks highlight how quickly Ukraine’s defensive capabilities are deteriorating. On Saturday, Ukrainian air defenses intercepted only two of the 35 missiles launched by Russia. Then, on Wednesday, they failed to stop any of the 28 missiles fired. More than 25 people were killed in those two attacks.
Mr. Zelensky told security officials on Wednesday that the country was facing a “shortage” of air defense systems, a weakness Russia was exploiting to inflict widespread damage and spread fear by targeting industrial facilities and logistics hubs.
That same day, Mr. Zelensky resumed efforts to secure more air defense support. During a conversation with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, he said they discussed global stocks of interceptor missiles and whether additional supplies could be provided to Ukraine. Mr. Stubb has built a close relationship with President Trump and may be able to encourage Washington to provide more interceptors.
Mr. Zelensky also held talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, writing on social media that they were coordinating efforts “regarding countries that have the necessary missiles and the capacity to help.”
Securing NATO’s backing remains essential. Nearly all Patriot interceptor missiles delivered to Ukraine are purchased through a NATO-supported program in which European funding is used to acquire U.S.-made weapons.
The initiative was designed to ensure continued American weapons deliveries while matching Mr. Trump’s preference for selling rather than donating U.S. military equipment. However, the program has not met initial expectations.
.jpg)
When the initiative began last summer, Mr. Zelensky said he hoped it would finance $1 billion in weapons purchases every month. Two weeks ago, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry reported that average monthly contributions during the program’s first year reached only about half that amount.
Ukraine’s ambassador to NATO, Alyona Getmanchuk, explained in an interview several strategies Kyiv is pursuing to strengthen its air defenses.
In addition to the NATO-backed initiative, Ukraine is using European funding to secure long-term contracts for U.S.-made weapons. It is also negotiating with the United States for a license to manufacture Patriot systems — a proposal that Mr. Trump initially supported publicly before later expressing doubts. At the same time, Ukraine is cooperating with European partners to develop its own antiballistic missile system.
Those initiatives, however, will require time before producing results. Ukraine urgently needs additional Patriot systems to protect its energy infrastructure from what Kyiv expects will be another winter campaign of Russian missile attacks aimed at leaving Ukrainians without heat. For that reason, Ukraine continues urging its European allies to donate more air defense systems.
Although Europe has increased military assistance to Ukraine, overall support has declined since Mr. Trump stopped U.S. weapons donations. Figures compiled by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank, show that Ukraine has received an average of just over 2 billion euros, or about $2.3 billion, in military aid each month this year, compared with more than 2.5 billion euros per month in previous years.
As air defense deliveries to Ukraine declined, civilian casualties increased. During the first six months of this year, 1,396 civilians were killed, representing a 37 percent increase compared with the same period in 2025 and a 114 percent rise from the year before, according to the United Nations.
The human cost of Wednesday’s attack became painfully clear at a railway station in a suburb of Kyiv, where rescue workers carried away the bodies of eight victims in white bags.
Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, chief executive of Ukrainian Railways, said a strike near the station tore through the platform where passengers had been waiting for a train. Until Ukraine receives sufficient air defense protection, Mr. Pertsovskyi asked during a phone interview, “how many human lives are going to be lost?”
Ms. Getmanchuk, the Ukrainian ambassador to NATO, said she fears Ukraine’s campaign for additional air defenses is becoming increasingly difficult as Russia’s relentless missile attacks begin to feel like a grim new normal.
“It’s becoming harder to convey this message,” she said. “People perceive a deadly attack as just another attack.”
إرسال تعليق