In January, Kyiv lacked missiles for Patriot, launchers stood empty during Russian strikes on energy infrastructure - FT
Kyiv • UNN
Last month, Kyiv's Air Force lacked interceptor missiles for Patriot systems, their launchers stood empty. This allowed ballistic missiles to freely shell power plants.
Last month, Kyiv's Air Force lacked interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems, their launchers stood empty while ballistic missiles shelled power plants unimpeded. FT writes about this, reports UNN.
Details
The publication notes that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately trying to freeze Ukraine into surrender, but he also criticized European allies for what he calls slow or insufficient supplies of air defense systems needed to protect energy infrastructure.
Last month, Kyiv's Air Force was so short of Pac-3 interceptor missiles for its Patriot air defense systems that their launchers stood empty, unable to respond, while ballistic missiles shelled power plants unimpeded.
As horrific as Russia's attacks have been — Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Wednesday that Russian forces have attacked Ukraine's energy sector 217 times since the beginning of the new year — they have still failed to break the resolve of Ukrainians. Indeed, despite the difficulties caused by the bombings, polls and interviews with Ukrainians show that Moscow's campaign has not shifted public opinion towards surrender, the publication adds.
"As of the end of January 2026, the Russian campaign of massive strikes on Ukrainian energy and efforts to plunge the population into darkness and cold have not had a significant impact on public sentiment," said Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, an independent local polling center.
A poll conducted by KIIS at the end of last month, as the humanitarian situation in Kyiv worsened, showed that national support for resistance to Russia remains high: about 65 percent of Ukrainians said they were ready to endure the war for as long as necessary, which is 2 percent more than in December.
"We do not see an increase in support for 'peace on any terms', especially in the Ukrainian capital," Hrushetskyi said.
"On the contrary, we see that the will to continue resistance remains among the majority of the population, and the majority also supports striking Russia."
Recall
On January 7, President Zelenskyy stated that no new air defense systems had arrived from the United States, missiles were arriving gradually, and Ukraine was seeking to accelerate this process. He also noted that he had discussed this issue with European partners, including France.
On January 20, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to another Russian attack with a significant number of ballistic and cruise missiles and over 300 drones, indicating that a day before this strike, Ukraine received the necessary missiles, "and this significantly helped" - air defense worked on a significant number of targets.