Zelenskyy: New Patriot PAC-3 Interceptors Coming to Ukraine, but “It's Not Enough”

Ukraine is set to receive a new package of Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles in the coming weeks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, while warning that current deliveries remain insufficient to counter the scale of Russia's aerial attacks.

Speaking in an interview with journalist Ramina Eshakzai during the NATO summit in Ankara on July 8, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had secured another shipment of PAC-3 interceptors but declined to specify when it would arrive.

“One PAC-3 package is coming—I won't say when—one PAC-3 package; we’ve agrred on that. But that’s not enough,” Zelenskyy said.

The president explained that under the PURL initiative, European and other partner countries finance a fixed number of interceptor missiles each month. However, he said the supply falls well short of Ukraine's needs, as Russia launches roughly twice as many missiles as Ukraine receives through the program.

According to Zelenskyy, Kyiv is therefore pursuing additional, unofficial arrangements with partner countries to supplement its air defense stocks.

“There are also alternative packages that we do not speak about publicly, when you literally squeeze them out of each country. Five, ten, twenty missiles from each country here and there, so that Ukraine can survive,” he said.

Zelenskyy stressed that expanding access to Patriot PAC-3 interceptors remains the most effective immediate solution for protecting Ukraine against ballistic missile attacks.

According to the President, the only viable solution is to develop an alternative to the PAC-3.

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“This Cannot Wait”: Zelenskyy Urges Europe to Build Its Own Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense Systems

Jul 07, 2026 15:19

“I think that in the coming weeks, perhaps even within a week, we will try to gather the countries that have joined the anti-ballistic coalition. They are producing components for our future anti-ballistic system, Freya,” Zelenskyy said.

The development comes as US President Donald Trump said he plans to discuss allowing Ukraine to produce Patriot air defense missiles under license during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to UNITED24 Media correspondents on July 8.

The initiative is intended to help ease shortages of advanced Western interceptor missiles by establishing licensed production in Ukraine. Trump said domestic manufacturing would enable Kyiv to reduce its reliance on lengthy international procurement processes for high-end air defense systems.

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