"Stop bombing the refinery and replace it with missiles" hit a wall! Zelensky: Patriots only give 12 coins per month, a 75% reduction

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stood in front of the Patriot air defense missile system and spoke. Zelensky recently stated that the United States currently only provides Ukraine with 12 Patriot interceptor missiles per month, and the delivery of some weapons that have been paid for has not yet been approved by the United States. (AP file photo)

Ukrainian President Zelensky revealed in a recent interview that the number of Patriot air defense system interceptor missiles currently provided by the United States to Ukraine has been significantly reduced, with only 12 missiles remaining per month, which is approximately one-quarter of the number during the Biden administration. He also pointed out that some of the weapons purchased by Ukraine and its European allies through the NATO coordination mechanism still have projects that have not been approved by the United States for delivery.

Zelensky made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg. He explained that during the Biden administration, the United States directly provided Patriot ammunition in the form of military assistance; but after the Trump administration came to power, the United States switched to selling weapons, and the costs were shared by Ukraine and its European allies.

Some of the paid weapons are still not approved for delivery

Zelensky said that Ukraine raised funds through the "Priority Ukraine Requests List" (PURL) mechanism coordinated by NATO to pay for procurement projects including Patriot interceptors. Although Ukraine has completed the payment process, the United States has only approved part of the delivery, and the rest of the list still needs to be approved. He emphasized that the reason for the delay was not a technical problem.

The Patriot system is one of the only Western air defense systems currently in service in Ukraine that can effectively intercept Russian Iskander-M ballistic missiles and air-launched Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. Although the SAMP/T developed by France and Italy has similar capabilities, the number deployed by the Ukrainian military is quite limited. Uzbek officials have repeatedly stressed the shortage of ammunition.

Zelensky also revealed that he had proposed to the United States that Ukraine be willing to stop attacking diesel and oil refining facilities in Russia in exchange for the United States accelerating the provision of Patriot missiles to protect Ukraine's infrastructure. However, the negotiations are currently at an impasse.

Lockheed. Although Lockheed Martin is accelerating the production of PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles under a multi-year contract, such advanced weapons are also facing huge demand pressure from the US military itself and allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Zelensky reiterated that he will continue to negotiate with the United States and hopes to be allowed to deliver the remaining ammunition that has been paid for as soon as possible to ensure that the Ukrainian air defense system can maintain basic operations during the winter.