Zelenskyy announced a critical shortage of missiles for air defense
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine has not yet received some of the missiles for its air defense systems that its partners had previously promised to supply. According to him, these delays are depriving the country of the opportunity to better protect its people and civilian infrastructure from Russian attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Ukrainian army needs more missiles for its air defense systems. He made these remarks to journalists during a visit to the site of a Russian strike in the Darnytskyi district of Kyiv.
According to the head of state, Ukraine is continuing negotiations with Western partners regarding the supply of air defense equipment. At the same time, some of the agreements have not yet been fulfilled, even though certain countries have already received payment for future deliveries. “There are countries with which we have reached agreements and to which we have already transferred funds. For example, we agreed with Norway to pay for 200 missiles. But all 200 of those missiles have not yet been delivered,” Zelenskyy said.
The president emphasized that the timely delivery of such missiles could help save lives and reduce the scale of destruction following Russian attacks. “If our partners had delivered what they promised on time, we could have saved homes and lives today. This is a major problem,” he stressed.
Zelenskyy also noted that the allies’ willingness to allocate funds does not always translate quickly into actual arms deliveries. According to him, Ukraine now needs not only new agreements but also the fulfillment of commitments already made by its partners. Separately, the president commented on Russia’s latest massive attack on Kyiv. He said that, in terms of the number of missiles and attack drones launched, this strike was one of the largest since the start of the full-scale war.
As a result of the strike, 131 civilian infrastructure facilities and residential buildings in the capital were damaged or destroyed. More than a hundred people required medical assistance, and rescue workers were able to free 17 victims from under the rubble. The president noted that work at the sites of the strikes is ongoing. According to him, the scale of the destruction is immense, so clearing the rubble and conducting search-and-rescue operations may take at least another day.
Zelenskyy emphasized that defending Ukraine’s airspace remains one of the top priorities. That is why Ukraine continues to negotiate with its partners regarding new deliveries of air defense systems and missiles that will help more effectively repel Russian air attacks. Zelenskyy made this statement in comments to journalists at the site of the enemy strike in the Darnytskyi district.
The Ukrainian Air Force released a video showing the combat operations of air defense units during a massive combined attack by the Russian Federation on the night of July 2, 2026.
