Active hostilities in the Middle East may affect the supply of air defense missiles to Ukraine. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about this in an interview with Corriere della Sera, UNN reports.
Details
The Ukrainian leader is convinced that the war in the Middle East could create risks for the supply of missiles to air defense systems in Ukraine, particularly for Patriot, as the United States and its allies may reorient their stocks for their own defense.
We may face difficulties in the supply of missiles and weapons to protect our skies. Americans and their allies in the Middle East may need them for their own defense, for example, missiles for Patriot systems.
According to the Head of State, Kyiv has not yet received any signals from the US or Europe about the cessation or problems in the operation of the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) mechanism, under which American weapons are purchased with European funding.
"We use the PURL program to purchase American weapons with European funds: perhaps the Americans will need it, as they did last year," the President clarified.
At the same time, he emphasized, the intensity of hostilities in the Middle East will potentially affect the availability of components and ammunition for air defense.
Zelenskyy recalled that during the previous escalation in the region in the summer of 2025, the pace of supply of certain items for Ukraine slowed down, and expressed fears that a similar scenario could be repeated.
For reference
PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) is a mechanism within which partner countries finance the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine according to an agreed list of priority needs.
The day before, President Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv is monitoring the situation in the Middle East, maintaining contact with partners regarding the stability of the PURL program.