Ukraine is running out of Patriot missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country's air defense forces are running out of missiles for their US-made Patriot batteries.

President Zelensky shared his conversation with one of the Ukrainian military commanders who announced the emergency.

"At 3, 4, and 5 a.m., the commander called me and said: 'We are near this city, and we don't have missiles to load the Patriot battery, we're out of missiles... There are eight (Russian) missiles coming, but we have nothing left to intercept,'" Kyiv Post quoted Mr. Zelensky on February 19.

Russia can keep the initiative in Ukraine for another year

Asked about security requirements for Ukraine, Mr. Zelensky said that if allies cannot fully guarantee the country, at least the Kyiv government's army should be allowed to build Patriot missiles.

In the security context, he questioned whether the US could provide enough Patriot systems for Ukraine's defense, given Washington's opposition to sending troops or allowing Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The Ukrainian president said that his country's army could protect the skies if it had 20 Patriot systems and was licensed by the US to produce missiles in exchange for the Pentagon not sending troops to Ukraine.

Patriot air defense missile system at Warsaw Babice airport (Poland) on February 7, 2023

Mr. Zelensky once again emphasized that Ukraine requires security guarantees and the goal is to end the fighting this year. However, the US has rejected the possibility of NATO admission of Ukraine as a viable security protection option for Ukraine.

The leader also said that Ukraine has spent $320 billion in the conflict with Russia, including $120 billion paid by Ukraine and $200 billion from the US and Europe.

Of which, the US provided 67 billion USD in weapons and an additional 31.5 billion USD in financial support.

He also criticized the Trump administration's intentions toward the country's rare earth reserves.

Earlier this week, the Financial Times quoted Armin Papperger, CEO of German military contractor Rheinmetall, as saying that European and Ukrainian arsenals were almost depleted due to limited reserves across the continent.

“Neither the Europeans nor the Ukrainians have anything left in their inventories,” Papperger warned, adding that demand for weapons would remain high if Ukraine and Russia were to reach a ceasefire.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ukraine-dang-can-ten-lua-patriot-185250220142019855.htm