Zelenskyy reveals how many US Patriot missiles Ukraine needs to survive winter

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine needs 5% of the US stock of Patriot interceptor missiles to survive the winter and 10% to destroy "all the Russians' ballistic missiles".

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with CNN

Details: Zelenskyy added that his days are passing in "millions" of phone calls and holding behind-the-scenes negotiations with allies over securing additional missiles.

The number of Russian ballistic attacks has surged in recent weeks, hitting Kyiv particularly hard, as Moscow takes advantage of Ukraine's Patriot interceptor missile stocks being close to zero. Zelenskyy said that one tenth of the US's current stockpile would be enough to stop all Russian ballistic missile attacks, while 5% would allow Ukraine to survive the winter.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "This year we have two and a half times fewer interceptors than we had in 2025.

Russia has two times more ballistic missiles per month than they had before."

Quote from CNN: "July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022, according to the United Nations."

Quote from Zelenskyy: "Each night [we] have attacks, and four or five times per month we have massive attacks … terrible nights."

"Very heroic, very resilient [Ukrainian] people really. But they [are] tired."

Details: Zelenskyy added that if the US "sells us 5% [of the interceptors], we will go through the winter and save people's lives. If they can sell us 10%, we will destroy all the Russians' ballistic missiles… I have 1%".

"This is what I live each day: from 1% to 5%. I have some months, and million phone calls… I try to exchange something to missiles… I do some things which I can't even share. It doesn't mean that it's outside the law. But I can't speak about it."

CNN noted that the world is facing a shortage of missiles due to the US war with Iran. Ukraine is feeling this shortage most acutely, with its cities appearing increasingly defenceless against Moscow's missile strikes.

Zelenskyy said there are still doubts about how US President Donald Trump's promise to allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles itself will be implemented.

Trump said at the NATO summit in Ankara that he would allow Ukraine to obtain a licence to manufacture the systems itself, but several days later said he was not sure about the idea. Manufacturers of Patriot missile systems have sent representatives to Kyiv to discuss the proposal, but so far there has been little progress.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "I hope that I will get it. I don't have now 5% and I don't have such an acceptance. And this for me is a big challenge, one of the biggest I have had from the very beginning of this war."

Details: Zelenskyy said he had contacted the White House directly, through calls and messages, as well as indirectly through allies, asking for increased assistance with Patriot systems. Meanwhile, he did not disclose details of his recent contacts with the Trump administration.

He confirmed that he had recently spoken on the phone with Vice President JD Vance, but declined to say whether Vance had asked Ukraine to stop attacks on a Russian oil port on the Black Sea – attacks which are harming US companies and creating the risk of a spike in global energy prices.

Kyiv has also put forward new proposals for the peace process led by Trump, which has appeared to lose momentum in recent months. Zelenskyy declined to provide details, but said: "We need more involvement of the American side to the peace plan. I'm thankful to the team of President Trump that they want to continue. [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin doesn't want to stop this war now and [there's] not enough pressure on him now."

He also rejected the idea that Ukraine would give up the remaining territory in Donbas that Putin seeks to capture, saying that security guarantees remain crucial for Kyiv.

Zelenskyy added that he had agreed with some Western assessments that Putin could be seeking to escalate the war against NATO, possibly by attacking smaller Baltic NATO member states.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "He doesn't know how to end this war without big occupation or big victory for his society. It's more simple to find some smaller country… for him, it will not be important if this country is in NATO or not in NATO. He wants quick victory, 100% sure that he will win, occupy or destroy or control."

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon to help us keep reporting!