After Trump walks back pledge to give Ukraine Patriot license, Russian attacks kill nine people
Hours after US President Donald Trump walked back his public pledge to give Ukraine the license to build Patriot interceptor missiles, Russian ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine killed at least nine people and injured dozens.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 1,500 sites, including regular residential buildings, were targeted over the course of last week.
Ukraine has notably become a world leader in drone production and deterrence, but has yet to figure out a way to protect itself from ballistic missiles. It has repeatedly courted the US and countries in Europe for interceptor missiles to defend its larger population centers.
Overnight from Friday into Saturday, Russia reportedly fired 35 missiles, including 27 ballistic missiles, and 185 attack drones, Zelensky claimed.
Only one ballistic missile was intercepted, the Ukrainian president said, “simply because there are no interceptors for the Patriot systems.”
He added that “it is this shortage of ballistic missile interceptors that only encourages Russia to launch such attacks that take human lives.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha issued more urgent pleas for the missiles, saying that it is “the battle for the skies that will define the trajectory of this war,” he said.
“The stronger the air shield over Ukraine, the closer peace becomes.”
Zelensky pushes for Patriot interceptors after Russian attacks killed nine
In comments on Sunday, Zelensky said that because of the shortage of interceptors, Russia has been pushing to expand its defense industry, and has placed a heavy emphasis on producing even more ballistic missiles.
“A significant number of Russian enterprises working to sustain these attacks by producing components for drones, missiles, and guided aerial bombs have still not been sanctioned,” he wrote on X/Twitter.
“That is why the aggressor is investing more and more in its ballistic weapons capability and is trying to ramp up production.”
On Friday, Trump appeared to walk back his pledge to give Ukraine the license to produce its own Patriot interceptor missiles, which he agreed to in July at the NATO summit.
“We’re talking about it, but it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David. “We have to be very careful. Now, we have not agreed to that. We’re talking about it. But it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology.”
In July, Trump told Zelensky to “make them [the Patriot missiles] yourself.”
“We’re going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That’s pretty cool, right?” Trump said. “This way he can’t complain that we’re not giving him enough. I said, ‘Make them yourself.'”
Zelensky has not given an official public statement on Trump’s reversal, but appeared to address them in his nightly video address on Saturday.
“It is crucial that our partners understand that these systems are not needed sitting in warehouses for hypothetical scenarios, but here and now,” Zelensky said on Saturday.
“Every anti-ballistic missile package saves the lives of our people. And every night that we lack them results in casualties.”
“The world has Patriot missiles. What matters now is for our partners to make the political decision to provide the necessary packages,” he said.
“The United States knows what we need. Europe knows what we need. And every day without this vital assistance gives Russia another chance to kill our people.”
