Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Ukraine has only a fraction of the interceptor missiles it needs to protect cities from Russian ballistic missiles, calling on the United States to increase military aid.
In an interview with CNN, Zelensky said that Ukraine currently has about a tenth of the number of interceptors it would need to completely stop Russia's ballistic missile attacks. According to him, even 5% of the US stockpile would be enough for Ukraine to survive the winter and save lives.
"This year we have two and a half times fewer interceptor missiles than we had in 2025," Zelensky said, adding that Russia is launching twice as many ballistic missiles per month.
The Ukrainian president described the situation as critical, especially for Kiev, as Russian attacks have intensified significantly in recent weeks. According to the United Nations, July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022.
"Every night you have attacks and four or five times a month we have mass attacks. These are terrible nights. People are very heroic, very resilient, but they are tired," Zelensky said.
He said he is conducting ongoing contacts with allies to secure more air defense systems, including phone calls, messages and negotiations that he cannot make public.
"This is what I live every day: from 1% to 5%. I have a few months and millions of phone calls. I try to exchange something for rockets. I do some things that I can't even share," he declared.
Zelensky also expressed uncertainty about a plan discussed by US President Donald Trump to grant Ukraine a license to produce its own interceptors for Patriot systems. Manufacturers of these systems have sent officials to Kiev to discuss the possibility, but there has been no concrete result yet.
"I hope I will achieve it. I don't have 5% now and I don't have such acceptance. And this is a big challenge for me, one of the biggest that I have had since the beginning of this war," the Ukrainian president said.
He also confirmed that he recently had a phone call with US Vice President JD Vance, but declined to comment on the content of the conversation.
At the same time, Kiev has presented new proposals for the peace process supported by the Trump administration. Zelensky said Ukraine wants greater involvement from the United States, while accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of having no interest in stopping the war.
"Putin doesn't want to stop this war now and there's not enough pressure on him right now," he said.
Zelensky also rejected the possibility of Ukraine handing over the remaining territory in Donbas, demanded by Moscow, stressing that any agreement must be accompanied by strong security guarantees.
The Ukrainian president warned, meanwhile, that Putin could aim to escalate the conflict beyond Ukraine, including an attack on the smaller Baltic states, members of NATO.
"He doesn't know how to end this war without a major invasion or a major victory for his society," Zelensky said, adding that, according to him, it would not be decisive for Moscow whether a future attacked country would be part of NATO or not.
