A war-damaged street in Kyiv, Ukraine
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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance is working to deliver the air defenses Ukraine "urgently needs," following a Russian overnight attack on Wednesday in which Kyiv's forces failed to intercept any of the 24 ballistic missiles launched against it. The strike killed at least 17 people. While Ukraine's air force shot down 98 of 115 drones fired in the same assault, its Patriot systems, the only defenses capable of stopping Russia's more advanced ballistic missiles, came up empty.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said air defense missile supplies from allies have dropped to a third of 2025 levels in the first half of this year, and suggested the slowdown could be a deliberate pressure tactic aimed at pushing Ukraine toward concessions in peace talks with Russia. A Ukrainian defense adviser estimated Russia can now launch up to 100 ballistic missiles a month, calling the shift a new phase in the war of attrition.
The shortage traces largely to the US-Israel war on Iran, which analysts say has depleted US Patriot interceptor stockpiles by more than 65%. Production is ramping up, Lockheed Martin delivered over 600 interceptors in 2025 and aims for 2,000 annually by 2030, but new supply won't close the gap quickly. NATO's first European Patriot production plant is set to open in Germany in September.
Washington's position has also wavered, Trump floated licensing Ukraine to build its own Patriots at last month's NATO summit, then said no final decision had been made. Talks reportedly continue on a hybrid production arrangement.
Source: The Guardian
