WP: EU countries denied Ukraine additional Patriot missiles, fearing depletion of stocks

Some European countries did not agree to transfer additional interceptor missiles for Patriot systems to Ukraine, fearing to weaken their own air defense.

The Washington Post reports this, citing knowledgeable sources. According to the publication, European governments, which remain the main military partners of Ukraine, are reluctant to part with Patriot missiles due to limited stocks.

In early 2026, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump called on several European countries to transfer additional interceptors to Kyiv. Some states refused, explaining this by the risk to their own defense capability.

Ukraine uses Patriot as the main means of combating Russian ballistic missiles. At the same time, the production of the systems and their ammunition does not keep pace with demand, which has grown due to military conflicts in different regions of the world.

A former senior Ukrainian official, on condition of anonymity, called the interceptor situation extremely difficult and predicted the worst-case scenario in the winter.

According to his assessment, in the coming months Ukraine will hardly be able to find a significant number of missiles. Even additional supplies might prove insufficient, since Russia has significantly more ballistic missiles.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the volume of missiles for Ukraine's air defense handed over by partners has decreased threefold compared to 2025. He stressed that delays in the supply of anti-ballistic means directly lead to civilian casualties.

During the massive Russian attack on August 5, Ukrainian forces could not intercept any of the 28 missiles fired mainly at Kyiv and the region. Russia used 24 ballistic and four hypersonic cruise missiles.

Based on materials: The Washington Post