Zelensky Appeals to US: Give Us 10% of Patriot Systems and We Will Destroy Russian Ballistic Missiles

Ukraine has only one-tenth of the interceptor missiles it believes it urgently needs from the United States to counter Russia’s increasing use of ballistic missiles, President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN.

The Ukrainian president described a daily struggle to secure more Patriot interceptors, saying he spends his days making “millions of phone calls” and negotiating with allies, some of which he said he could not disclose publicly.

Russian ballistic missile attacks have increased significantly in recent weeks, with Kyiv being hit particularly hard as Moscow takes advantage of Ukraine’s nearly depleted stockpile of Patriot interceptor missiles.

According to Zelensky, if the United States provided Ukraine with 10% of current US stockpiles, Kyiv could counter every Russian ballistic missile attack. Even 5%, he said, would be enough to help the country make it through the winter.

“This year, we have two and a half times fewer interceptor missiles than in 2025. Russia is using twice as many ballistic missiles per month as before,” he said.

He stressed that Russian attacks are now taking place almost every day. “Every night we come under attack, and four or five times a month we face massive attacks… terrible nights. The people are truly heroic, truly resilient. But they are tired.”

Zelensky was very clear about the scale of the problem.

“If they sell us 5%, we will make it through the winter and save lives. If they can sell us 10%, we will shoot down all Russian ballistic missiles. I have 1%,” he said.

He also rejected the idea of Ukraine giving up the remaining territory in Donbas that Putin seeks to capture, saying security guarantees remain essential for Kyiv.

“Russia starts talking about this war, and they talk about territory. The main question is why he would not return with an additional 1 or 2 million troops after a long pause. Why would he not come back to occupy us?”

Zelensky added that he agreed with some Western assessments that Putin could seek to escalate the war against NATO, possibly by attacking NATO’s smaller Baltic states.

“He does not know how to end this war without a major occupation or a major victory for his society. It is easier to find a smaller country… for him, it will not matter whether that country is in NATO or not. He wants a quick victory, 100% certain that he will win, occupy, destroy or control.”