Zelensky warns of depleting air defense missiles in Ukraine

• President Zelensky warns Ukraine of potential missile shortage due to Russia’s long-range bombing campaign.
• Zelensky emphasizes the need for Patriot air defense systems, stating Ukraine needs 25 of them.
• The US air defense system has been vital during Russian attacks with ballistic and hypersonic missiles.

In remarks aired on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Ukraine could run out of air defense missiles if Russia continues its intense long-range bombing campaign.

This warning, the starkest to date from the Ukrainian leader, highlights the deteriorating situation faced by Ukraine’s air defenses amid weeks of Russian strikes on the energy system, towns, and cities using a broad arsenal of missiles and drones.

“If they keep hitting (Ukraine) every day the way they have for the last month, we might run out of missiles, and the partners know it,” he said in an interview that aired on Ukrainian television.

Zelensky, who has been appealing to allies for weeks to rush in more air defenses, stated that Ukraine had enough stockpiles to cope for the moment, but that it was already having to make difficult choices about what to protect. In particular, he emphasized the need for Patriot air defense systems and stated that Ukraine needed 25 of them.

The sophisticated US air defense system has been vital during Russian attacks with ballistic and hypersonic missiles, which can hit targets within a matter of minutes. Ukrainian officials said that his remarks followed a fresh spate of attacks that killed civilians.

Russian missile and drone strikes, one in the early hours of Saturday and a second in the afternoon killed eight people and wounded at least 10 more in northeastern Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

Artillery shelling in the eastern region of Donetsk killed four people in the village of Kurakhivka, including a 38-year-old woman and her 16-year-old daughter. Additionally, a 25-year-old man was killed in the village of Krasnohorivka. In Odesa in the south, a missile strike killed one civilian.

The strikes hit 80 percent of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private power company, causing the grid to introduce rolling blackouts to stabilize the system.

Also Read

Zelensky seeks Balkan arms and support at summit in Albania

The summit coincides with Kyiv's efforts to enhance its defensive capabilities against...