During an interview with ABC News, Zelenskyy stated that over the past three months, Ukraine has received only 24 Patriot interceptors from the United States. Facing Russia’s sustained ballistic missile campaign, Ukraine requires approximately 350 interceptors per month to meet its air defense needs. He cited the example of October 22 alone, when Russia launched more than 20 ballistic missiles at Ukraine.

Zelenskyy drew a comparison between Ukraine’s ammunition supply situation and the escalation in the Middle East: during the first 84 hours of the regional crisis, allied partners consumed roughly 2,000 air defense interceptors provided by their counterparts. He emphasized that Ukraine has not been pleading for sympathy, but stressed the imperative for the international community to recognize that each interceptor is critical.

Previously, Zelenskyy had presented a winter air defense assistance proposal to EU officials, requesting a total of 300 PAC-2 and PAC-3 Patriot missiles. Ukraine’s plan envisions sourcing the shortfall from European nations such as Germany, Spain, and Greece, which maintain Patriot inventories, while awaiting delivery of German procurement orders and the operational deployment of the multinational FREYJA anti-ballistic missile project involving ten countries.

However, Greece has already signaled its position: while supportive of Ukraine, it would refrain from transferring PAC-2 missiles if doing so would compromise its own defensive capabilities in the eastern Mediterranean.

Due to constraints in production capacity, existing inventory allocations, and competition for munitions across U.S. global theaters of operation, deliveries under the NATO “Ukraine Priority Requirements List (PURL)” framework have come under significant strain. As a result, air defense protection for municipal and energy infrastructure across Ukraine relies on extremely limited interceptor stockpiles.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1879927095864330/

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