Zelenskyy asked Trump for 300 Patriot missiles to protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure in winter
The President of Ukraine gave an interview to Axios, in which he spoke about his request to Donald Trump to allocate an emergency "winter package" of interceptor missiles for Patriot anti-aircraft systems to Kyiv.
Photo: Efrem Lukatsky / AP
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine needs 300 missiles to avoid large-scale damage to the country's energy infrastructure during the cold season.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy and Trump held a meeting at the White House. According to the Ukrainian president, the US leader confirmed his promise, given during the NATO summit in Ankara in June this year, to grant Ukraine a license for the production of Patriot missiles.
However, the production of these missiles will take several years, so their release in Ukraine does not solve the problem right now, because, as Axios quotes Zelenskyy, "we needed the missiles yesterday."
According to the President of Ukraine, in response to the request for an additional "winter package" of missiles, Trump promised to try to help, but made it clear that it would not be easy, as such missiles are also needed by the US itself in the war with Iran, and their stocks have significantly decreased over almost five months of this conflict.
Zelenskyy also reported that Ukrainian and American defense companies are exploring the possibility of modifying Ukrainian ballistic missiles and converting them into interceptor missiles with capabilities similar to Patriot missiles, because, according to him, "it would be faster and cheaper."
Numerous strikes by the Russian army on Ukrainian thermal power plants and other energy infrastructure facilities last winter caused a heating crisis for residential buildings and enterprises, which was further exacerbated by severe frosts and snowfalls.