Patriot systems in Ukraine have been sitting empty for weeks, interceptor missiles are nearly exhausted – CNN. VIDEO
For the first time, the Ukrainian military granted CNN journalists access to a Patriot air defence system inside the country to demonstrate a critical problem: Ukraine has almost exhausted its stock of interceptor missiles.
CNN reported this, according to Censor.NET. The outlet agreed not to disclose the model of the Patriot system or its location.
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Empty launchers
The journalists saw 16 Patriot launchers bearing signs of regular use. However, the unit’s chief engineer, call sign Dmytro, said he had not seen a missile launched from this launcher for six weeks.
Ukraine is reluctant to disclose the exact number of interceptors it has left. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the country needs 5% of US stockpiles to get through the winter, while it currently has only 1%.
"It is truly heartbreaking to see that you have the equipment but cannot intercept a single missile. Ballistic missiles fly overhead, and there is nothing you can do about it, while civilians are behind you," Dmytro admitted.
The engineer said he first encountered a complete lack of interceptors in December 2025. He described the feeling as akin to knowing how to walk or breathe but being physically unable to do so.
Another crew member, Heorhii, who works at the command and control centre, said the decision on which missile to intercept is made by the unit commander based on experience. According to him, the hardest part is knowing that the targets in the air threaten civilians, critical infrastructure and the families of his fellow service members.
The reason for the global shortage
The global shortage of Patriot interceptors was caused by their extensive use in the Persian Gulf in March and April, primarily to repel relatively inexpensive Iranian drone attacks. Wealthy Gulf countries are estimated to have used dozens of interceptors. Dmytro said he had anticipated that the conflict in the Middle East would eventually affect Ukraine as well.
- According to the Foreign Policy Research Institute, coalition forces expended an average of 225 interceptors per day during the first four days of the war with Iran. Meanwhile, manufacturer Lockheed Martin produced only 620 interceptors in 2025, or about 1.7 per day. In January, the Pentagon signed a seven-year agreement with Lockheed Martin to increase production to 2,000 interceptors annually by 2030.
Domestic production in Ukraine
In an interview with CNN, Zelenskyy said he had offered Raytheon and Lockheed Martin full control and ownership of any interceptor production plant they permitted to open in Ukraine, provided that production capacity, staffing and output volumes were determined by the Ukrainian side, while the manufacturers could set the price themselves.
On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara in June, US President Donald Trump offered Ukraine licences to produce interceptors. Representatives of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin subsequently visited Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy, but Trump soon expressed doubts about whether such licences would be issued.
The White House told CNN that no decisions or guarantees regarding the production of Patriot interceptors had yet been made, as protecting US technology remained the priority.
