Zelenskyy: Patriot missiles may be withheld to make Ukraine more compliant
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he does not rule out the presence of political motives in the decision of Western partners to reduce supplies of anti-missile systems for Ukraine. He reported this during a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.
According to the head of the Ukrainian state, officially, allies, primarily the USA, as well as European countries, explained the reduction in supplies by military actions in the Middle East and the need to direct resources to protect their own interests in that region. However, Zelenskyy noted that he is not sure this is the only reason.
"At least, we received such an official reason from our partners, primarily the USA, but also European ones... I don't know if there are other reasons besides the Middle East.
Perhaps these are political steps to make Ukraine, let's say, more compliant. In my opinion, it's not without that. We understand that this is a serious challenge," Zelenskyy said.
He emphasized that the lack of anti-missile systems is a serious challenge for the country. He instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense to make maximum efforts to achieve an increase in the supply of air defense and anti-missile defense systems. At the same time, according to him, Ukrainian military personnel must continue to destroy enemy launch platforms to reduce the threat of missile strikes.
It was previously reported that during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, US President Donald Trump denied Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request to transfer an additional 300 missiles for Patriot systems. The American leader explained this by a shortage of such missiles in US warehouses and the need to ensure the defense of American military facilities amid the conflict in the Middle East. Furthermore, the issue of transferring technologies for the production of these munitions to Ukraine also currently remains unresolved.
Earlier, Zelenskyy had already stated that in 2026, the volumes of anti-missile system supplies for air defense systems decreased approximately threefold compared to 2025.
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