Zelensky asks US to sell 5% of Patriot missile stockpile as Russian attacks intensify

Zelensky's appeal to Washington

President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the United States to sell Ukraine 5% of its Patriot interceptor missile stockpile, saying the transfer would allow Kyiv to survive the coming winter and save lives. In a CNN interview published on Thursday, he said 10% of US stocks would enable Ukraine to destroy all ballistic missiles Russia fires at it. Ukraine has "two and a half times fewer interceptor missiles available this year than in 2025," Zelensky said, while Russia now fires "more than twice as many ballistic missiles per month as before."

“This year I ask our US partners to sell me five percent of their missile stockpile. If they sell us five percent, we will survive the winter and save human lives. If they sell us ten percent, we will destroy all of Russia's ballistic missiles.”

The US has consumed large quantities of attack and defense missiles in the Iran war since February, and media reports warn of ammunition shortages that could complicate any transfer.

Russian attacks intensify

The Russian army has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine, firing massive missile salvos at the capital Kyiv at least once per week. In one recent attack, Ukraine failed to intercept any of 28 ballistic missiles fired at it, with the government in Kyiv citing insufficient air defense. According to the United Nations, July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022.

“Every night there are attacks, and four or five times a month we experience massive attacks, terrible nights. The people are really very heroic and very resilient. But they are tired.”

Ukraine restricts attack data

Amid the escalating strikes, Ukraine's air force announced on Wednesday that it would no longer publish exact figures on Russian missile attacks. Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on Facebook that "certain changes" would be introduced to daily morning reports. The military will no longer disclose the number of missiles fired by Russia, the number destroyed or intercepted by Ukrainian forces, or the number of Russian missiles that failed to reach their targets. Until now, the Ukrainian armed forces had published a daily tally of Russian attacks with exact figures.

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10% of US stockpile10%

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10% of US stockpile

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Data from the article text

Domestic missile development and other fronts

Ukrainian defense technology company Fire Point is developing the FP-7, a tactical short-range ballistic missile with a 200-kilometer range and a 150-kilogram warhead. CEO and chief technology officer Iryna Terekh told POLITICO the missile is already in a certification process requiring combat-testing launches under a special procedure.

“We're going to do those launches, prove its effectiveness in real combat against our enemy, and after that it will be ready for contracting.”

Terekh said the missile could also be reworked for use in air defense systems. On the Crimean Peninsula, the port city of Sevastopol lost power after a Ukrainian drone attack on strategic installations. Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol, told the state news agency Tass that the city was cut off from its power supply due to a massive Ukrainian attack, and experts were assessing the damage.