Zelensky Says Air Defense Supplies Fell Threefold as Russian Strikes Leave Kyiv Exposed
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 6
Zelensky Says Air Defense Supplies Fell Threefold as Russian Strikes Leave Kyiv Exposed
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 6
Summary
Threefold fewer air defense missiles have reached Ukraine this year than in 2025, Zelensky said after a deadly Wednesday attack left Kyiv unable to stop Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
Western allies still have interceptors, Zelensky said, but have not made the political decisions to send more or speed production as Russia mounts its most intense missile campaign of the war.
Those appeals are landing less effectively because partners are increasingly reluctant to drain their own arsenals while conflicts on multiple fronts, including the Middle East, erode global stockpiles.
The shortfall marks a sharp reversal from earlier in the war, when Zelensky's lobbying helped secure Ukraine's first U.S.-made Patriot system in 2023 and additional Western batteries later.
With Russian missile production outpacing the West, can Ukraine's experimental European defense coalition survive until new interceptors arrive in 2027?
As global Patriot stockpiles critically dwindle, what radical asymmetric technologies could replace traditional air defenses before the next winter barrage?