Zelenskyy on the 20,000 missiles that the US did not give to Ukraine: Then they realized that there would be an Israeli operation

The approach of Israel's operation against Iran became clear when the United States transferred 20,000 interceptor missiles to the Middle East, which were intended for Kyiv. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with journalists on June 13, LB.ua reports.

According to the head of state, he constantly feared that Ukraine could become a "bargaining coin," just one of the factors in negotiations between the US and Russia.

"So, alongside the situation with Iran, there was also the situation with Ukraine. They are really dependent on each other," the president noted.

Zelenskyy gave the example of how Washington sent 20,000 interceptor missiles to the Middle East, although these weapons were supposed to go to Kyiv.

"These were inexpensive missiles, specifically for [shooting down] Shahed drones. And when you see 300-400 drones a day against us – most will be shot down, but a certain percentage will reach – then we counted on these missiles, you can calculate how many we would have. We shoot down by other means, but 20,000 is a serious number, to be honest. The US transferred these missiles to others because of the situation in the Middle East. And for us it was a blow. But at the same time it became clear that the Israeli operation was approaching," the head of state said.

The president also noted that there is no information on how long Israel's operation against Iran might last.

• On June 8, Zelenskyy reported that under the previous US administration, Washington and Kyiv had agreed to transfer 20,000 missiles against Russian "shaheeds", but the current American government transferred these weapons to the Middle East.
• On June 13, Israel launched a large-scale operation "Rising Lion" against Iran's nuclear infrastructure to prevent the creation of nuclear weapons, during which high-ranking military personnel of the Islamic Republic were also eliminated. In return, Tehran strikes Israel – there is destruction in residential areas, local residents are killed and injured. On June 14, the operation continued.
• During the same briefing, Zelenskyy reported that Ukraine had indeed negotiated with Israel to obtain air defense systems, although initially it was not about the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system. However, due to the outbreak of hostilities with Hamas , Ukraine never received these systems.