Ukraine's Patriot shortage leaves Kyiv exposed as Russia escalates missile strikes
The gap in Ukraine's air defenses has widened into one of the most urgent issues facing Kyiv's allies, coming just as Western leaders prepare to gather for a major NATO summit
Russia's latest missile attack on Kyiv, which killed at least 12 people and wounded close to 50, exposed how Ukraine has virtually run out of Patriot interceptors capable of stopping ballistic missiles. Ukraine failed to intercept any of the 23 Russian ballistic missiles that struck the Kyiv area early Monday, a consequence of a global interceptor shortage worsened by this year's US-led war with Iran.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to press Western allies for more interceptors from their own stockpiles at this week's NATO summit in Ankara, saying Sunday that "the political will of the United States would certainly be enough to make up for the Patriot shortage," but that support so far has been insufficient.
Ukraine has intercepted around 90% of Russian long-range drones and 80% of cruise missiles this year, but only about 30% of ballistic missiles, according to data from the UK-based Center for Information Resilience.
Zelensky's defense minister has asked nearly 40 partner countries for a quick transfer of stockpiled Patriot missiles, offering new deliveries in return starting next year.
Poland has already moved to help close that gap. Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed during a visit to a military-aviation plant that Warsaw had supplied Kyiv with Patriot systems capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles, including Iskanders.
Tusk argued that supporting Ukraine is directly tied to Poland's own national security, saying "every precisely aimed missile fired at Ukraine" that destroys Russian drones, missiles or aircraft "contributes to Poland's security." He also urged Polish politicians not to let domestic disputes over refugees or history interfere with defense cooperation, stressing that unity on security issues must take priority over internal political divisions.
Manufacturers Lockheed Martin and RTX are working to scale up interceptor production, though analysts say meaningful increases are unlikely before the end of the decade.