Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters Friday that his country’s allies in Europe have enough missile and drone interceptors to help Ukraine get through the winter, amid reports that his country had completely run out of U.S.-made interceptors.
He added that it is unclear how many interceptors Ukraine could get from Europe and that Kyiv’s current requests are the “bare minimum” needed to defend critical infrastructure against Russian attacks.
Mr. Zelenskyy indicated that Ukraine was looking to rely less on foreign-made defensive technologies, saying the focus is to produce a new defense system that is cheaper and could be shared with Europe.
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The comments came after Mr. Zelenskyy met with European leaders at a European Union meeting in Brussels on Friday.
CNN had reported earlier this week that Ukraine had effectively run out of U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missiles, leaving the country vulnerable to further Russian attacks. The development is especially worrisome for Kyiv as the country prepares for another harsh winter and Russia increases its attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid.
Ukraine has, in turn, launched attacks on Russian oil refineries, which has reportedly frustrated the White House as President Trump looks to keep oil and gas prices down ahead of the November elections.
The Trump administration has for weeks pushed for an energy ceasefire that would stop all attacks on refineries in Ukraine and Russia.
Mr. Trump announced this month that the two nations agreed to a partial energy ceasefire, but Mr. Zelenskyy appeared surprised by the announcement.
Nevertheless, he said his country would honor the agreement if Russia did the same.
Moscow never officially recognized the agreement announced by Mr. Trump, and Ukrainian authorities announced just hours later that Russian strikes continued to hit energy facilities.
Mr. Trump has said Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries have contributed to higher international oil prices, and by extension higher U.S. gas prices, and has called on Mr. Zelenskyy to halt all further attacks.
During the Friday press conference, Mr. Zelenskyy declined to answer whether Ukraine was still hitting Russia’s oil infrastructure with long-range strikes, insisting that his country does not telegraph its military operations.
Mr. Trump also recently announced a deal this month with Russian President Vladimir Putin that would import Russian diesel fuel, hence lowering domestic gas prices.
Critics have insisted that while Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil sites have contributed to overall higher energy prices, the Iran war remains the primary driver of the price increase.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf used to transport a fifth of the world’s annual supply of oil and natural gas, has been effectively closed since March by the Iranian military, with commercial ships facing missile and drone attacks if they try to travel through the route.
When asked by Sky News at a news conference after a summit of EU leaders on Friday in Brussels if he felt that he was being used as a scapegoat for Mr. Trump’s political woes, Mr. Zelenskyy smirked at the audience.
“This is my answer,” he said.
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