Ukraine needs exactly 300 Patriot missiles to protect its skies and critical infrastructure during the upcoming winter. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky during the summit of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing“ in the French capital Paris. According to Kiev's calculations, revealed by the head of state and quoted by the Ukrinform agency, the country urgently needs 100 interceptor missiles per month during the three most critical winter months.
“If we have sufficient protection for the winter, Russia will have significantly fewer reasons to prolong the war“, the Ukrainian leader argues. According to him, the Kremlin is betting on its final trump card - massive strikes with ballistic missiles against cities to break the will of the population and paralyze the energy grid.
Critical air defense shortage on the threshold of the cold months
Zelensky's statement highlights the deep ammunition crisis that Kiev is currently facing. The current stock of missiles for the American Patriot systems, which are the only weapons capable of shooting down Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles, is practically exhausted. The “Washington Times“ newspaper notes that the lack of interceptors has already led to serious consequences in the recent massive attacks on the capital Kiev and the surrounding region, where Ukraine was unable to stop the waves of ballistic missiles due to a lack of ammunition in reserve.
To solve this long-term problem, last week during the summit NATO in Ankara, US President Donald Trump made a surprising promise, announcing that the US would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture its own Patriot missiles. However, experts and military analysts warn that organizing such high-tech production on Ukrainian territory would take between two and three years. That is why Kiev urgently requires an immediate “winter package“ from the existing stocks of Western allies.
The “Freya“ Project: Europe's New Anti-Ballistic Shield
In search of alternatives and greater independence from external suppliers, Ukraine and nine of its European partners – including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands – officially announced in Paris the creation of a new Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition.
A key pillar of this cooperation is the joint air defense project “Freya“ (Freyja). According to the media outlet “Mezh“, FREYJA is a Ukrainian development of a low-cost, mass-produced missile defense system. It aims to unite the European industrial base, Western radar technologies and Ukraine's combat experience. The project is expected to become fully operational within the next 12 months.
As European industry mobilizes, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on international partners to accelerate their decisions on the supply of not only Patriot, but also the European SAMP/T, IRIS-T and NASAMS systems. According to him, defense diversification is the only way to make planning Russian air strikes impossible, ensuring the security of both Ukraine and the whole of Europe.