“To reliably protect lives, we need our own production.” Volodymyr Zelensky said it in his nightly video address on Thursday, hours after a Russian assault on Kyiv that Ukrainian authorities say killed more than 20 people and injured over 80.
The Ukrainian president wants a domestic factory for Patriot air-defence missiles. He framed it as either European manufacturing projects on Ukrainian soil or a partnership between Kyiv and allied countries. He also said he hopes Washington will let Ukraine build the Patriot missiles under licence.
Costly interceptors, thin stocks
Allies have already sent Ukraine air-defence systems, among them American Patriot batteries and German IRIS-T launchers. The missiles those systems fire are expensive and scarce. The war with Iran, begun by President Donald Trump and Israel, has made matters worse by pushing up global demand for advanced air-defence munitions.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry spoke bluntly the same day. It called intercepting ballistic missiles a major challenge because stocks of Patriot interceptors are running down. Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, the ministry said, has recently approached nearly 40 partner countries. His request: hand over Patriot missiles from their existing inventories now, and Ukraine will accept replacement shipments already agreed upon later.
Russia has now fought a full-scale war against Ukraine for more than four years.
A months-long push for licences
Thursday’s call fits a pattern. After a Stavka meeting on air defence in March, Zelensky said the talks covered ballistic threats, frontline air defence, anti-drone missiles and interceptors. “Everything will be provided,” he said, adding that Ukraine is working so that its own production can supply every component, anti-ballistic ones included. He said the work was being done with several countries and that it was too early for details. “But the most important thing is licenses for us, localization for us, results for us, in Ukraine.”
He had also argued on February 17 that Europe could have strengthened its air defence faster had it obtained licences to make missiles, but the United States did not agree to such conditions at the time. He put Ukraine’s need at 10 to 12 Patriot systems. According to the president, global production of PAC-3 missiles is limited to about 60 a month, and partners are redirecting supplies to the Middle East.
Sources
- Zelensky pushes for Patriot missile production in Ukraine
- Zelensky pushes for Patriot missile production in Ukraine
- Zelensky directs expansion of air defenses, vows domestic missile production including anti ballistic interceptors | Межа
