Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov has called on partner countries to significantly increase military assistance to Ukraine.
“The Minister of Defense of Ukraine has already sent letters to nearly 40 partner countries requesting the urgent transfer of Patriot missiles from existing stockpiles this month — in exchange for future deliveries contracted for Ukraine. He also called for contributions to the PURL and JUMPSTART mechanisms. These are the fastest and most reliable ways to supply the necessary Patriot missiles. It is critically important to make decisions ahead of the NATO summit,” Fedorov wrote .
The minister recalled that in April, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense signed a record contract for hundreds of PAC-2 Patriot missiles with German support. Deliveries are expected to begin over the coming years.
He also noted that Ukraine has taken an unprecedented step toward purchasing around 100 Patriot missiles worth $1 billion, financed through an EU loan. This year, Ukraine has also begun receiving missiles from the stockpiles of European partners.
In addition, the implementation of NATO’s After Action Review standard has already more than doubled the effectiveness of Patriot systems against maneuvering Iskander missiles.
“However, this is still not enough — Ukraine critically needs additional Patriot missiles. They exist in partner stockpiles. And Ukraine’s air defense depends on rapid decisions, scaling up the PURL mechanism, and procurement through JUMPSTART,” he said.
Fedorov added that Russia carried out one of its largest attacks on Ukraine overnight: nearly 500 strike drones and 77 missiles, including 25 ballistic or hypersonic missiles.
“Thanks to the professionalism of our forces and partner support, more than 90% of cruise missiles and 90% of Shahed-type drones were intercepted. We thank the air defense forces who protect Ukrainian skies every day and night. However, intercepting ballistic missiles remains a key challenge due to a shortage of Patriot missiles,” he concluded.
