Europe will not be able to replace the US regarding ballistic interceptors for Patriot – Zelenskyy

Following the suspension of US aid to Ukraine, Europe will not be able to fully compensate for all of the US military support, especially missiles for shooting down ballistic missiles for Patriot systems. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press conference with European leaders in Denmark.

"First of all, of course, we are counting on the continuation of American support, because there are certain positions that, unfortunately, Europe cannot provide. Especially when we talk about PAC-3, about missiles for Patriot systems. Yes, this is critically important. And [Europe cannot replace the States] when we talk about air defense systems," the head of state said.

Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine also relies on its own production and needs more funding for it – this issue was discussed during communication with partners in Denmark.

The president also announced that he would be speaking with US President Donald Trump by phone in the coming days regarding the suspension of American aid.

• On July 2, it became known that the Pentagon had suspended the supply of certain air defense missiles and other precision-guided munitions to Ukraine due to concerns that US arsenals had become too small.
• Later, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense stated that the agency is reviewing the supply of weapons to partners around the world, not just Ukraine.
• Analyst Badrak explained to LIGA.net that Washington is actually capable of producing a sufficient number of Patriot systems and missiles for them to sell to Kyiv.