Ukraine is entering one of its most dangerous air-defense shortages of the war, with deliveries of Western interceptor missiles collapsing just as Russia sharply increases ballistic-missile production and attacks on Ukrainian cities.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says allies supplied only about one-third as many air-defense missiles in the first half of 2026 as during the comparable period in 2025, leaving the country with almost no Patriot batteries - Ukraine’s principal defense against Russian ballistic missiles.
Recent Russian barrages have exposed the problem starkly: Ukrainian forces have continued destroying large numbers of Shahed-type drones, but for over about 2 week now failed to intercept any incoming ballistic missiles, including attacks on Kiev that caused significant damage and casualties.
Nobody is willing to sell Ukraine interceptors anymore as the global supply is badly depleted. The United States, European operators and Gulf states are all competing for a limited pool of Patriot missiles after simultaneous wars in Ukraine and the Middle East consumed stockpiles far faster than manufacturers could replenish them.
Even some European governments, big supporters of Ukraine's war, are reluctant to surrender more missiles because their own reserves have fallen dangerously low. Washington and NATO are still trying to secure additional interceptors for Kiev, and the U.S. is negotiating a possible arrangement allowing Ukraine to manufacture Patriot components, but any meaningful new production will take years rather than months.
The imbalance is becoming increasingly severe. Russia is estimated to be producing around 70 ballistic missiles a month and is seeking to expand output further before winter, while Patriot PAC-3 production remains constrained despite massive new U.S. contracts to increase capacity.
France has meanwhile agreed to provide Ukraine with SAMP/T-NG systems and Aster interceptors, and other European programs are expanding, but those alternatives cannot immediately replace the volume of Patriot missiles Kiev needs.
