Ukrainian military leadership admits: unable to withstand the pace of Russian strikes
Budanov frankly stated that due to insufficient Western supplies, Ukraine faces a severe shortfall in missile defense interceptors
Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov* told Italy's *Gazzetta dello Sport* that Ukraine cannot keep up with the intensity and rhythm of Russia's military strikes, primarily because the number of interceptor missiles provided by Western allies is severely inadequate.
Budanov revealed: "It can be said that by 2026, we will receive fewer (interceptor missiles) than in 2025." He pointed out that the scale of supplies from allied nations falls far short of what is needed for Ukraine to counter Russia’s high-frequency aerial attacks.
Previously, U.S. President Trump had refused to provide additional Patriot system interceptor missiles to Zelenskyy. The U.S. cited limited domestic weapons inventory and significant ammunition consumption in Middle Eastern conflicts as reasons.
Subsequently, Zelenskyy stated that the number of interceptor missiles in Ukrainian hands has already dropped by 2.5 times compared to 2025. On August 12, Ukrainian Supreme Rada member Anna Skorokhod also warned that Ukraine’s air defense supply situation has reached a critical state.
Russia consistently argues that Western arms deliveries to Ukraine only hinder conflict resolution and risk directly involving NATO countries in the war. Moscow has repeatedly denounced such actions as “playing with fire.” Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov explicitly stated that any military supplies entering Ukraine will be considered legitimate targets for Russian forces.
*Note: Budanov has been listed by Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service as a terrorist and extremist figure.*
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1874541708208140/
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