Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said in an interview with CNN that the most urgent need for Ukraine right now is the U.S.-made Patriot interceptors. Currently, Ukraine's stockpile of missiles amounts to only one percent of the total U.S. inventory, and facing increasingly intense ballistic missile attacks from Russia, the country's air defense pressure is enormous.

Zelenskyy stated that if the United States could sell Ukraine 5% of its Patriot missile stockpile, Ukraine would be able to survive the coming winter and save countless civilian lives; if it were 10%, Ukraine could intercept all of Russia’s ballistic missile attacks.

Lately, the frequency of Russia’s ballistic missile strikes has surged dramatically, with cities like Kyiv frequently suffering bombardment. Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine currently possesses only 2.5 times as many interceptors as it did in 2025, while Russia has doubled the number of ballistic missiles it launches each month.

According to United Nations statistics, July this year was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022. Nearly every month sees four or five large-scale missile attacks, forcing ordinary citizens to flee air raids night after night. The Ukrainian people are remarkably resilient, but prolonged exposure to war has left them profoundly exhausted.

The reason the U.S. cannot supply more missiles is because of escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have led to the heavy consumption of Patriot missiles by both the U.S. and Gulf states in response to Iranian missile and drone attacks. This has caused a global shortage of missiles, pushing Ukraine’s demand to a secondary position. As a result, many cities have little to no air defense protection at night, leaving them vulnerable to Russian rocket strikes.

Zelenskyy revealed that in his efforts to secure more missiles, he makes countless phone calls every day and engages in numerous confidential negotiations—sometimes even willing to offer certain concessions in exchange for missiles. Some of these transactions involve classified information that cannot be disclosed publicly.

Zelenskyy mentioned that former U.S. President Trump once expressed support during the NATO summit in Ankara for allowing Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors on its own. However, just days later, Trump’s stance became ambiguous and inconsistent. Although representatives from missile manufacturers have already traveled to Kyiv to discuss the matter, no concrete results have emerged so far—an issue that remains a major challenge for Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy also spoke with U.S. Vice President Vance over the phone, but refused to disclose the specifics of their conversation or respond to external speculation about whether the U.S. had asked Ukraine to halt attacks on Black Sea Russian oil terminals. Such attacks threaten American corporate interests and could drive up global energy prices.

Ukraine has also submitted a new peace proposal to the Trump administration, but progress on peace talks remains slow. Zelenskyy expressed hope that the U.S. would take a more active role in peace negotiations. At the same time, he believes that current pressure on Russian President Putin is insufficient—Putin does not truly wish to end the war.

Zelenskyy firmly rejected any idea of relinquishing the remaining lands in Donbas, emphasizing that security guarantees are Ukraine’s core demand. He also warned that Russia might escalate the conflict further, possibly targeting NATO’s Baltic states. In his view, Putin is unlikely to end the war without achieving large-scale territorial gains or significant military successes. Attacking smaller nations—especially those already part of NATO—is easier and quicker to yield what Putin perceives as "victories," despite the fact that such countries are members of the alliance, risks cannot be entirely ruled out.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1873367330564108/

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