RT reported that on February 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that the Kiev military is facing an exhaustion of missiles used for the patriot air defense system provided by the US.
Mr Zelensky said he has sought a license so Ukraine can produce its own patriot system in case of unable direct supply, while emphasizing the shortage of ammunition.
Speaking at the press conference, Mr. Zelensky recounted the moment the officers called him helplessly to report the lack of anti-aircraft missiles.
"At 3, 4, and 5am, the commander-in-chief called me and said there were no more missiles for patriot. He said there were eight missiles flying in the sky but there were no missiles to intercept," Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president continues to call for the provision of 20 more patriot systems and warns that US soldiers do not need to participate in the operation in the context of Washington's hesitation on deploying troops in Ukraine.
According to RT, this information was revealed by Mr. Zelensky after only 1 week, when US President Donald Trump asked Kiev to return hundreds of billions of USD in US aid by exchanging rare earth minerals. Zelensky later rejected the deal.
Also on February 19, when asked about the reason for refusing to sign a deal allowing Washington to exploit Ukraine's mineral resources, Mr. Zelensky said that the document released by the US representative did not have security guarantees. He emphasized that the document only clearly states in one thing that Ukraine must transfer 50% of mineral output.
Last week, on the morning of February 12 (local time), US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attended direct talks with President Zelensky in Ukraine about the exchange plan that Mr. Trump had proposed.
Trump's plan requires Kiev to return more than $300 billion in aid that the former Washington administration has provided in various forms, by supplying the US with a quantity of rare earth minerals, including lithium and titanium in Ukraine equivalent to $500 billion.
