Ukraine seeks Patriot missiles from allies after lack of new promises from the US
Kyiv • UNN
Ukrainian Ambassador Olha Stefanishyna stated that Zelenskyy's visit to the US did not bring new commitments regarding Patriot missiles due to a shortage. Ukraine is temporarily seeking missiles from other partners and plans its own production.
Ukraine has appealed to its allies for missiles for Patriot systems after President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the US did not yield new supply commitments. This was stated by Ukraine's Ambassador to the US, Olha Stefanishyna, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
According to Stefanishyna, Zelensky's meeting with US President Donald Trump was constructive, but no new agreements on missile supplies were reached due to a general shortage.
Ukraine hopes to temporarily receive Patriot missiles from the stockpiles of other partner countries before the start of winter, and then replace them with new interceptors it plans to purchase. Stefanishyna did not specify which states might join this initiative.
At the same time, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that Warsaw will consider the possibility of transferring additional Patriot missiles to Ukraine after a Russian missile fell in the east of the country.
Ukraine also relies on its own production
Amid intensified Russian missile attacks, Kyiv continues negotiations with the US on localizing the production of Patriot interceptor missiles. According to Stefanishyna, Ukraine is ready to consider various cooperation models — from final assembly of missiles to the production of individual components on its territory.
She noted that under an optimistic scenario, production could begin in 10-12 months, although full deployment of the production line could take up to five years. Ukraine also hopes that cooperation with US companies, particularly Lockheed Martin, will help speed up this process.