Ukraine Has Run Out of Patriot Interceptor Missiles, CNN Reports
With stockpiles empty, nearly all Russian ballistic missiles in this week's strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv got through, a source said, as the feud between Zelensky and Trump over refinery strikes deepens.
Ukraine has run out of interceptor missiles for its U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, leaving its cities more exposed to Russian ballistic missile attacks, a source familiar with the situation told CNN on Thursday.
The Patriot is one of the few weapons in Ukraine’s arsenal able to knock down ballistic missiles. The source told CNN that nearly all the Russian ballistic missiles in the latest attack got through because Ukraine had no interceptors left to fire at them.
The overnight strike, running into Wednesday morning, sent Russian ballistic missiles into three power plants in Kyiv and energy sites in Kharkiv, killing four people in the capital and injuring 25. The Ukrainian Air Force said it managed to shoot down four Russian ballistic missiles in the attack, which suggests it fired some of its last remaining interceptors, CNN reported.
A long-running shortage hits empty
Kyiv has warned for months that its interceptor stocks were running thin. President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN in August that Ukraine had only a tenth of the missiles it urgently needed, and Ukrainian officials granted the network access to a Patriot battery the same month, when the country was said to be nearly out.
Replacements are hard to come by. The interceptors are expensive and scarce around the world, as other governments have drawn down their own stockpiles or kept them at home to guard against threats of their own. Zelensky has asked Washington for a license to build the missiles inside Ukraine; last month he said Trump had agreed, but the U.S. president declined to confirm that, and no license has materialized, according to CNN.
A widening rift with Washington
The shortage lands in the middle of a bitter argument between Zelensky and President Donald Trump. The White House has pressed Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil facilities, arguing the attacks drive up fuel prices, and recently struck a deal to import Russian diesel. Zelensky said he felt betrayed by the arrangement and has told Kyiv to keep hitting the refineries.
Zelensky told the Financial Times that Washington warned Ukraine the U.S. could block intelligence sharing and European purchases of American weapons, including through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, if the refinery strikes continue. Trump has denied halting intelligence sharing. Ukraine was also caught off guard this week by a throttling of Starshield, the military version of Elon Musk’s Starlink; operations were partially restored by Thursday, but Ukrainian officials said some restrictions remained.
Reporting based on coverage by CNN.
