Ukraine Exhausts All U.S.-Made Patriot Missiles, Leaving It Vulnerable to Russian Airstrikes
"All exhausted during Russian airstrikes on the 12th and 13th"
Zelensky: "We will resume attacks on Russian oil refineries"
Ukraine has exhausted its entire stockpile of U.S.-made Patriot missiles used to defend against Russian ballistic missile attacks, CNN reported on the 15th local time. As the U.S. government has not provided additional assistance despite Ukraine's appeals for support, relations between the two countries are also deteriorating.
Citing Ukrainian sources, CNN reported: "Almost none of the ballistic missiles launched in Russia's latest attack were intercepted because of a shortage of interceptor missiles," and "Ukraine used its last Patriot missiles during Russian airstrikes on the 12th and 13th, leaving it more vulnerable to subsequent Russian ballistic missile attacks." Recent Russian ballistic missile attacks killed four people and injured 25 in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital.
According to CNN, Patriot missiles were Ukraine's only means of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles. The United States began supplying them after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since the start of the second Trump Administration, they have been provided indirectly through European purchases. However, since the outbreak of the war with Iran, stockpiles have been running low worldwide.
The Ukrainian government has repeatedly requested additional Patriot missiles this year, but President Trump is demanding that Ukraine first stop attacking Russian oil refineries. The Trump Administration has previously blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries as the main cause of a sharp rise in diesel prices in the United States, which has emerged as the biggest liability for the administration ahead of the November midterm elections.
Relations between the two countries are deteriorating further. In an interview with the Financial Times (FT) the previous day, President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized President Trump and said Ukraine would resume attacks on Russian oil refineries. "President Trump seems to feel an instinctive affinity for dictators and the ultrawealthy," he said. "Russia continued its attacks even though we had halted ours for three days, so we will resume attacks on Russian oil refineries."
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Amid diplomatic tensions between the two countries, concerns are growing that any further cuts to U.S. military assistance could leave the Ukrainian military in serious danger. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) noted: "If the United States stops providing assistance, Ukraine will become more vulnerable because it relies entirely on the United States not only for Patriot missiles but also for Starlink and missile early-warning systems," adding that "only the United States can provide intelligence on gaps in Russian air defenses, as well as parts and ammunition for F-16 fighter jets."
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