Zelenskyy asks partners for 300 Patriot missiles for winter to protect Ukraine’s skies
Ukraine must begin preparing now for next winter, which could be the harshest yet. Kyiv has called on its Western allies to urgently assemble a defensive "winter package" of missiles for Patriot air defence systems.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this during a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, Censor.NET reports.
Winter air defence package as a path towards ending the war
Zelenskyy stressed that pressure on the aggressor must be comprehensive: while Ukrainian long-range drones destroy the enemy’s rear, air defence must guarantee complete security in Ukraine.
"We must begin preparing for next winter now. Of course, we are making every effort to push Russia towards diplomacy. And this summer has already become the most difficult for Russia. Our long-range operations and medium-range strikes will continue. We will intensify them. A winter package of air defence missiles should be one of the main ways to strengthen our overall position. If we have sufficient protection for the winter, Russia will have far fewer reasons to prolong the war until winter," the president explained.
- Ukraine has calculated that the package should include 100 Patriot missiles per month—or 300 missiles for the winter—and the president asked partners to consider this requirement.
Local production of Patriot systems and European security
"President Trump and I reached an important agreement on licences to produce Patriot systems. Our teams are now working to implement this truly historic political agreement. We worked on this for a very long time," the president added.
At the same time, Zelenskyy stressed that the air shield must be deeply layered and diverse, which would make it significantly more difficult for the enemy to plan new attacks.
In addition to US systems, Ukraine is counting on swift decisions by European manufacturers regarding SAMP/T, IRIS-T and NASAMS medium- and short-range systems, as well as the development of the promising Ukrainian FREYJA project.
"I am convinced that Europe is capable of providing itself with sufficient protection against any ballistic threat. Europe is also capable of making a strong contribution to global security," the Ukrainian leader added.
