Ukraine is looking to other allies for vital supplies of air-defense missiles after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s White House visit this week yielded no pledge of new supplies, Kyiv’s ambassador to Washington said.
Zelenskyy’s meeting Tuesday with President Donald Trump did not produce a “hard commitment because of the, you know, overall shortages,” Olha Stefanishyna said Thursday at a Christian Science Monitor-hosted media roundtable.
Ukraine hopes to borrow missiles from other allies’ existing stockpiles ahead of the winter and then replace them with missiles it plans to procure later, she said, without naming the countries. On Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland will consider offering more Patriots to Ukraine, hours after a Russian missile crashed in eastern Poland.
Ukraine has struggled to defend against stepped-up Russian missile strikes in recent weeks. At least six people were killed in an overnight barrage that included 74 missiles and 284 drones, officials said. While Ukraine is expanding its home-grown air defenses, it relies on the US-made Patriot system to intercept the ballistic missiles that Russia has been increasingly using.
Zelenskyy asked Trump for 300 Patriot interceptors to help maintain defenses through the winter, Axios quoted the Ukrainian leader as saying. While the tone of the White House session was positive — in contrast to a tense Oval Office encounter last year — there was no announcement of any new supplies.
The US war against Iran has dramatically depleted inventories of air-defense missiles. The Pentagon Wednesday announced $59 billion in spending to increase production of Patriot interceptors, but that will take years.
Trump pledged on July 8 to grant Ukraine licenses to produce its own Patriot interceptors, but those permits haven’t been issued. Zelenskyy met with Pentagon officials and executives from Lockheed Martin Corp. to discuss possible production.
Kyiv estimates it could start making the missiles as quickly as “10 to 12 months,” but establishing a line could take as long as five years, Stefanishyna said.
Ukraine is ready to discuss a range of options, including final assembly of the missiles on its territory or full production of components, she said, noting that the country’s war-time footing and experience could help lower costs.
“There are so many things we can offer for companies like Lockheed Martin to be able to develop and scale up and adjust their technologies to the new reality,” she said.
Stefanishyna said she has asked to resign in order to return home to address allegations of corruption. Her replacement is not yet confirmed.
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