Zelensky Asks Trump for 300 Patriot Missiles Before Winter

President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios in an interview on Tuesday, that he asked US President Donald Trump for an emergency “winter package” of Patriot air defense interceptors to help thwart Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.According to Axios, Ukraine’s stockpiles of the interceptors have been almost depleted, and without them the country cannot defend itself against Russian ballistic missiles – the reason Ukraine could not stop recent Russian attacks on Kyiv, Zelensky said.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Russia uses 30 to 40 ballistic missiles in every major strike it conducts against Ukraine, with three to five such attacks every month.If the problem is not solved by winter, Russian missile attacks could destroy Ukraine’s power plants, shutting off heating for millions of Ukrainians and creating a humanitarian crisis.The urgency for PatriotsDuring the NATO summit in Turkey earlier this month, Zelensky and Trump discussed the possibility of the US giving Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot interceptors to reduce its dependence on US stockpiles and boost production overall.Zelensky said Trump agreed during their Tuesday meeting to move ahead with the Patriot production licenses. After his White House visit, Zelensky also met with representatives of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, both of which produce Patriot interceptors, to discuss the issue.However, even if Ukraine obtains the licenses, it would take one to five years to produce large amounts of interceptors. Other Topics of Interest Russia Hints at Mobile Catapult Launchers for S8000 'AliExpress' Cruise Missiles The drone-missile, cobbled together with foreign parts, has thus far been launched from Russia’s Orion drone and the Mi-28 attack helicopters. “We needed the Patriots yesterday,” Zelensky said, seeking 300 of them by winter.He said Trump promised he would try to help, but also made clear it is difficult because of the need for interceptors in the US war with Iran.Nevertheless, Zelensky said he and US defense companies are exploring modifying Ukrainian-made ballistic missiles and turning them into anti-missile interceptors with similar capabilities to the Patriot missiles, as it will be faster and cheaper.Zelensky stressed that Ukraine is ready to share any military technology or expertise the US wants in order to get Patriot interceptors.Relations with Trump “much better”According to Zelensky, the changing war dynamic has helped Ukraine’s standing with Trump.“Our relations are much better and more constructive. Not so emotional like it was. And I think that it’s good that it’s better,” he said.Zelensky said he briefed Trump on how Ukrainian precision strikes have not killed civilians but have cut off fuel supplies in Russian-occupied Crimea while sapping the morale of the Russian military.“People who are there and the Russian soldiers can’t live without diesel and petrol. So of course, immediately in the polls, support for the war decreased in Russia,” he said.Kushner, Witkoff to visit KyivUS mediation efforts between Russia and Ukraine have been put on the back burner since the war with Iran started. Trump envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are still in touch with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators but spend most of their time on Iran.Zelensky said one outcome of his meeting with Trump is a likely visit to Kyiv by Kushner and Witkoff in the next two weeks – their first trip to Ukraine after multiple visits to Russia.President Zelensky said he wants to discuss ideas for relaunching peace talks to end the war, but also for them to see the situation in Ukraine firsthand.Zelensky said Kushner and Witkoff still want to reach a ceasefire to allow space for diplomacy, but he emphasized Putin’s reluctance to do so.Putin preparing escalationDespite the current momentum on the battlefield and Zelensky’s skepticism of Putin’s intentions, Ukraine is still interested in resuming peace talks with Russia.However, Zelensky said he thinks Putin is moving toward further escalation and could even try to provoke other countries in the region in order to have “a more simple victory to sell to his audience.”Zelensky claimed Russia gets weapons from Iran and is building infrastructure for 30,000 additional troops from North Korea who would be sent to fight in Ukraine. He also asserted North Korea is supplying ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia.Zelensky even claimed Putin is taking low-profile steps to prepare for the potential mobilization of an additional 500,000 troops.“This is what we see,” he said. “It’s not the signal that he wants to stop the war.” Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.