Media, Zelensky writes a letter to Trump: "Help us with air defense"

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky urged United States to provide more ammunition for Patriot air defense systems in order to counter Russian ballistic missiles, which are pounding the country.
The “urgent” appeal – reported by several newspapers including the Kyiv Independent – is contained in a letter sent to Donald Trump, in which the Kiev leader recalls Ukraine’s almost total dependence on its Western allies to defend itself from Moscow’s missiles, despite having developed a system for intercepting long-range drones that is the envy of some of the most advanced armies in the world.

Zelensky’s fears over the increase in Russian raids on Kiev

The request comes days after one of the worst combined missile and drone attacks launched against Kiev since the large-scale invasion in February 2022, which devastated the capital. In the letter dated May 26, Zelensky asked Washington to “help us secure this vital tool of protection against Russian terrorism: the Patriot Pac-3 missiles and other systems, to stop Russian ballistic missiles and other Russian missile attacks.” In the five-page document, also addressed to Congress, Zelensky admitted that “when it comes to defending ourselves from ballistic missiles, we rely almost exclusively on the United States.” “And it is in Ukrainian hands that the Patriot systems have demonstrated something extremely important: most Russian missiles can be stopped,” added the Ukrainian leader.

The message also reflects Kiev’s growing concern about difficulties in obtaining weapons through the program Purl (Prioritaized Ukraine Requirements List), which allows NATO allies to finance the purchase of US weapons for Ukraine. “The current pace of deliveries through the Purl program is no longer keeping up with the real threat we face,” Zelensky writes to Trump, “I ask for your help in protecting the skies of Ukraine from Russian missiles.”

The turbulent relations between Kiev and Washington

The Kiev leader’s appeal comes at a turbulent time for the relations between Ukraine and the United States. Trump returned to the White House last year vowing to quickly end the Russian invasion. Efforts led by the White House to bring the two countries back to the negotiating table have been undermined by the US and Israel’s war against Iran, but also by the failure to make progress on key points for an eventual peace agreement. Both sides have stepped up attacks with drones and long-range missiles since a series of US-brokered bilateral talks earlier this year appeared to have stalled.

The difficulty for Ukraine to obtain ammunition

A senior official of the Ukrainian presidency, speaking anonymously, admitted that sourcing ammunition for advanced air defense systems supplied by Kiev’s Western allies is “complicated”. “It is simply difficult to find missiles at the moment, given that there are so many other orders in the Gulf and other similar areas,” the source lamented.
The war in the Middle East, which has seen US allies deploy huge quantities of air defense munitions to protect sites in the Gulf, has exacerbated the munitions shortage Kiev has faced since the start of the conflict. Zelensky also spoke about it today with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen in a phone call in which “the work to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, especially on the anti-ballistic potential” was discussed.