Trump Denied Zelenskyy's Request for Additional Patriot Interceptors
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, U.S. President Donald Trump refused to provide hundreds of additional interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense systems.
The Financial Times reported this, citing informed sources. According to the publication’s sources, during talks in the Oval Office, Zelenskyy asked Trump to provide Ukraine with hundreds of additional interceptor missiles for the Patriot system ahead of the winter season.
According to the sources, the U.S. president rejected this request, explaining that the decision was due to a shortage of interceptor missiles in U.S. stockpiles. He stated that these munitions are currently needed to protect U.S. facilities in the Middle East and U.S. allies in the region amid the war with Iran.
At the same time, after media reports emerged about a significant reduction in the stockpile of interceptors for the Patriot and THAAD systems, the Pentagon chief denied these reports, calling them false and accusing journalists of spreading fake news.
Source: “European Truth.”
As a reminder, the Ukrainian company Fire Point reported on the progress of the Freyja project, which is intended to become a new means of countering ballistic threats. The first tests to intercept a ballistic missile are planned to be conducted after the completion of key stages in the system’s development.
The U.S. will increase production of PAC-3 missiles for Patriot systems.
