“We need new PURL packages this year, this May.” Volodymyr Zelenskyy put it that bluntly to Western partners in the spring, when he pressed them to fund more Patriot missiles for Ukraine.
The appeal came at a meeting with European leaders and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the talks, reported on May 6 that Zelenskyy told the group Ukraine expected a fresh Russian offensive over the summer. He said Russian forces had struggled to take significant ground and were taking heavy losses. He also asked partners in Yerevan to pay into the PURL program with a focus on Patriots. “Every contribution to the PURL program matters,” he said.
Interceptors Run Short
Bloomberg’s sources said cuts in U.S. military support have strained Ukraine’s stock of interceptor missiles. Patriots are the system Kyiv wants most, because they are the only one built in meaningful numbers that can stop the most destructive ballistic missiles Russia can turn out in quantity. European options such as the Franco-Italian SAMP/T were not seen as workable replacements on their own for the foreseeable future, the sources said.
Zelenskyy also raised the prospect of a long U.S. war against Iran. He said it added to Ukrainian worries, because it could bring instability, higher prices and political shifts in allied states. Bloomberg’s sources said Putin may be betting that the Middle East conflict will pull weapons away from Ukraine.
Kyiv has asked EU partners to build and buy more weapons, and proposed joint European work on anti-drone and air-defense systems. Some officials think those projects will take a long time to deliver.
The September Address
On September 24, Zelenskyy took the same argument to the United Nations in New York. He called for stronger international pressure on Russia and for diplomatic steps before winter. Peace efforts would fail, he said, unless Russia faced sustained economic, military and political pressure, and he urged restrictions on Russian revenues and continued sanctions.
He told the Assembly that Ukraine had logged thousands of missile and drone attacks this year. Ballistic missiles and jet-powered Shahed drones, he said, were among the gravest threats to cities, infrastructure and civilians. According to the president’s office, Ukraine is expanding output of interceptor drones and developing a multinational anti-ballistic program called FREYJA with European partners. Zelenskyy stressed that it is meant to add to Patriot and SAMP/T batteries, not replace them.
That same day he met Rutte to discuss getting more Patriot interceptors. Kyiv fears Russian missile fire could grow heavier in winter, when hits on the energy grid put civilians at greater risk.
Deals and Open Questions
Ukraine signed a bilateral security agreement with Australia during the UN meetings and announced wider drone-production cooperation with Finland. Zelenskyy’s office said the Australian deal covers long-term support in defence, energy and humanitarian areas. Ukraine is also promoting its “Drone Deal” model, built around joint production and shared systems for protecting airspace, infrastructure and borders. Zelenskyy said arrangements with Canada and other countries were being prepared, and Prime Minister Mark Carney discussed drones and support packages with him during his September visit to Canada.
The British government said its prime minister talked over a possible energy ceasefire with Zelenskyy and backed continued sanctions to bring Russia to the table. As of September 25, no ceasefire had been announced. Territory, security guarantees and Russia’s willingness to negotiate all remained unresolved, and nothing suggested a broad peace deal was near.
Sources
- Ukraine presses allies to speed up weapon deliveries ahead of Russian summer offensive
- Zelenskyy Presses Allies For Peace And Air Defence
