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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the United States to provide more ammunition for its Patriot air defence systems to counter Russian ballistic missiles, according to a document reviewed by the AFP news agency on Wednesday.
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The appeal underscores Ukraine’s almost total reliance on its Western allies to down Russian missile barrages, despite having pioneered a system for intercepting long-range drones that is the envy of some of the world’s most advanced militaries.
The request comes just days after one of the worst combined missile and drone attacks launched against Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine more than four years ago, which wrought devastation across the capital.
In a letter dated 26 May and addressed to President Donald Trump, Zelenskyy asked the US to “help us secure this vital tool of protection against Russian terror – Patriot missiles PAC-3 and additional systems – to stop Russian ballistic missiles and other Russian missile attacks.”
An adviser to Zelenskyy, Dmytro Lytvyn, confirmed to journalists in a WhatsApp conversation that a “letter was sent to the president and to the Congress.”
In separate comments to AFP, a senior official within the Ukrainian presidency conceded that finding ammunition for advanced air defence systems supplied by Kyiv’s Western allies was “complicated.”
“It’s just hard to find missiles right now when there are so many other orders in the Gulf and other places like that,” the source said.
“And the supplies through PURL have slowed down as well,” the source added, referring to a system whereby Ukraine’s European allies can purchase weapons from the United States on behalf of Kyiv.
The Iran war, which saw US allies expend huge quantities of air defence ammunition protecting sites in the Gulf, has exacerbated a shortage Ukraine has faced since the start of the war.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s success in drone warfare has attracted the attention of rich Gulf states that have been targeted with the same types of Iranian-designed drones that Ukraine is now well versed in countering.
Ready to mediate
News of the letter to Trump comes a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington remains ready to mediate in the war between Russia and Ukraine, after Moscow threatened new strikes on Kyiv.
Russia’s warning, including a call for foreign diplomats to flee the Ukrainian capital, marks a fresh escalation in the more than four-year war, with Moscow vowing “systematic” attacks on Kyiv, including on “decision-making centres.”
Rubio’s offer came after Russia battered Ukraine over the weekend, including reportedly firing two of its Oreshnik hypersonic missiles, and following a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“Every time you see these big strikes from one side or the other, it’s a reminder of why this is a terrible war that’s now gone on longer than the Second World War, and it needs to come to an end,” Rubio told reporters during an official visit to India.
Russia’s weekend barrage, involving dozens of drones and missiles, killed four people and caused widespread damage across the Ukrainian capital.
Among the weapons Russia used was its Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which can travel 10 times the speed of sound and is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, according to Moscow.
Additional sources • AFP
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