Ukraine is facing a critical shortage of missiles for the U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, which are capable of intercepting ballistic targets. According to The Washington Post, by October 7 the country had only 10 such missiles left, and they were expended during attacks. Currently, Kyiv has only a few such munitions at its disposal, reports infohub.kz.
"The situation is extremely tense. Innocent civilians are dying every day," a Ukrainian official said.
The missile shortage affects not only Ukraine. In the first month of the war with Iran, the United States used more than 1,000 Patriot and THAAD missiles. Replenishing stockpiles could take years: producing one new missile takes up to 36 months.
The U.S. continues to supply weapons to Kyiv under the PURL program, which is funded by European countries. A NATO representative said that air defense missile deliveries are ongoing, but the Ukrainian side reports disruptions.
"Since May, deliveries have been irregular, and now no one can say with certainty or guarantee that the next batch will actually arrive," he added.
According to The Washington Post, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly changed his position on providing additional Patriots to Ukraine amid a lack of progress in peace talks. We previously reported that EU foreign policy chief Kallas called Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries self-defense.