Ukraine admits it has virtually no Patriot interceptors left as Russia intensifies strikes

Ukraine has effectively run out of Patriot interceptor missiles to defend against Russian ballistic missiles, President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged. Concerns are growing that Russia is exploiting the gap in Ukraine's air defenses to intensify its strikes — a shortage made worse by the United States diverting large quantities of Patriots to its war with Iran.

Zelensky made the admission Saturday on social media platform X.

"Only one ballistic missile was intercepted because there were no interceptor missiles available for the Patriot systems," Zelensky said. "It is this shortage of ballistic missile interception capabilities that is spurring Russia to press ahead with these deadly attacks," he added.

According to Zelensky, Russian forces launched a massive assault in the early hours of Saturday, firing 35 missiles in total — including 27 ballistic missiles — along with 185 drones. The attack targeted primarily Kyiv while simultaneously striking Dnipro, Sumy, Kharkiv and Poltava.

With Patriot interceptors spent and Russian missiles going unimpeded, fires broke out across Kyiv, killing at least nine people. At least 18 residential buildings, a school, the Lithuanian Embassy and critical infrastructure were also damaged.

The Washington Post reported that the US-made Patriot air defense system is Ukraine's only effective means of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. Supplies were already insufficient before the Iran war, and the conflict has since sharply drawn down US stockpiles, deepening the shortage further.

The fallout from the Middle East conflict is directly affecting Ukraine's air defenses. Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday to personally request additional Patriot interceptors.

At that meeting, Zelensky reportedly offered to share with the United States Ukraine's accumulated drone defense technology and its experience countering Russian and Iranian drones. In his post on X Saturday, he again urged Western partners to provide more support.

"It is important that partner nations recognize that these air defense capabilities are needed here and now — to deter and stop Russia's war against Ukraine — not stored somewhere in reserve for hypothetical scenarios," he said.

Trump had mentioned on July 8 the possibility of granting Ukraine a production license to manufacture Patriots domestically over the long term.

In response, Zelensky met with a senior vice president of US defense contractor Raytheon and others on Thursday to begin discussions on co-producing Patriot missiles.

However, Trump told the Financial Times in a recent interview that he was "not sure" whether the proposal would actually move forward, casting doubt on whether the US offer will come to fruition.