On August 13, according to TASS news agency, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that he wants the US to sell Ukraine 5% of the missiles belonging to Patriot air defense systems to help this country maintain its defense capabilities in the coming winter.
If the US sells us 5%, we will get through the winter. We have 1%," Zelensky said.
According to the Ukrainian leader, this year, the country received 2.5 times fewer interceptor missiles for Patriot systems than in 2025.
Mr. Zelensky said he is seeking to negotiate various agreements to have more missiles, but declined to disclose specific content. According to him, the search for Patriot supply is currently an issue he has spent a lot of time solving.
Every day I try to increase that number from 1% to 5%. I only have a few months left and have made millions of phone calls... I am trying every way to exchange for more missiles," Zelensky said.
He also said that there are things being done that he cannot publicize, and emphasized that it does not mean that these activities are outside the legal framework.
In addition to seeking to buy missiles, Ukraine is also waiting for an answer from the US about the possibility of being transferred a license to self-produce Patriot missiles. Mr. Zelensky said that he has not yet received approval from Washington but hopes this issue will be resolved.
I hope I will get approval," he said, while acknowledging that not having enough missiles is one of the biggest challenges for Ukraine since the conflict began.
Mr. Zelensky confirmed that he had repeatedly contacted the White House directly through calls and text messages, and asked allies to promote increased supply. He said he recently had a phone call with US Vice President JD Vance.
The possibility of Ukraine self-producing Patriot is also unclear. At the NATO summit in early July, US President Donald Trump mentioned the possibility of allowing Ukraine to produce Patriot under license in the future.
According to sources, building Patriot interceptor missile production capabilities in Ukraine will take a lot of time and will be difficult to help Kiev quickly replenish its reserves. At the end of July, Mr. Trump also expressed doubts about the prospect of transferring Patriot and missile production technology of this system to Ukraine, and said that the US should be cautious when granting its weapons manufacturing licenses to other countries.
