Zelensky Asks Europe for 300 Patriot Interceptors as Russian Iskander-M Missiles Go Unintercepted

Russia has struck Ukraine with Iskander-M and North Korean-supplied KN-23 ballistic missiles and Kh-22/32 air-launched missiles without a single one being reported shot down, only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky asked European Union leaders for 300 Patriot interceptors to see the country through the winter. The Ukrainian Air Force reported on the morning of October 17 that its defences had downed or suppressed 293 targets since 18:00 the previous evening, a tally made up entirely of four Kalibr cruise missiles and 289 of the 332 drones launched, with hits recorded at 22 locations. It did not state how many ballistic missiles were launched from the Voronezh and Rostov regions and from Crimea. The result reflects what Ukrainian officials have described for months as a near exhaustion of the only interceptors in their inventory that can reliably engage ballistic targets.

Zelensky made the request at the European Council in Brussels on October 16, stating: “Ukraine can’t get by on just two or four missiles from a country every few months. We need a winter package ... of missiles, 300 Patriot interceptors specifically against ballistic missiles.” He told reporters, according to state news agency Ukrinform, that the figure assumed one interceptor per incoming missile rather than the usual two, and acknowledged that Ukraine was “not the No. 1 priority” for American production. The request follows an identical call for 300 missiles from allied stockpiles made by Defence Minister Yevhen Khmara on September 8, and a report by The Washington Post on October 15, citing Ukrainian officials, that only a handful of Patriot missiles remained. Ukraine has signed contracts for roughly 1,000 Patriot missiles, according to Defense News, though most are not scheduled to ship for years.

The shortage has been considerably worsened by competing demand following the war with Iran, which drew heavily on U.S. and Gulf stocks, and by disruptions to American intelligence support for Kiev. European holders have been reluctant to fill the gap, with Greece, which reportedly holds at least 200 older PAC-2 missiles, and Spain both declining to release interceptors nearing the end of their certified service lives, according to reporting by The Telegraph. Lockheed Martin aims to raise PAC-3 MSE output from around 600 missiles a year to 2,000 by 2030, while the American firm Anduril has pitched a modular interceptor at a third of the cost that will not fly before 2027. The record of the summer highlights how exposed Ukraine has become, with the Ukrainian Air Force having reported on July 6 that none of 23 Iskander missiles and six Zircon hypersonic missiles fired that night were intercepted.

The alternatives Kiev is pursuing remain at least a year away from closing the gap in its ballistic missile defences. The FREYJA anti-ballistic program, which Zelensky praised in Brussels, is built around Fire Point’s FP-7.X missile at roughly $1 million a round, about a quarter of the price of a PAC-3 MSE, but its backers do not expect a first real ballistic intercept before the end of 2027. France has promised four SAMP/T NG systems, which fire the Aster 30, before the end of 2026. The Iskander-M, with a range of around 500 kilometres by Western estimates, flies a flattened, manoeuvring trajectory that leaves defenders only minutes to respond and gives Patriot batteries little margin for the one-for-one engagements Kiev now says it is prepared to accept.