Ukraine runs out of options for new air defense interceptors

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BRUSSELS — Ukraine is racing to protect its skies from Russian missiles, but it’s running out of options — and money — to source new interceptors.

Kyiv has launched a fresh campaign asking Western partners for air defense equipment and cash amid growing fears that Moscow will dramatically ramp up its missile attacks this winter.

But a series of meetings this week — from an informal gathering of EU defense ministers to a special meeting of NATO ambassadors — all came up empty.

Countries with stocks of PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors for U.S.-made Patriots — ranging from Greece and Spain to Japan and South Korea — are hanging on to their own supplies and balking at giving them to Kyiv.

Despite Ukraine’s efforts to get more cash for defense purchases, there is a global squeeze on interceptors as the U.S. is scrambling to rebuild its own stocks after firing hundreds of missiles against Iran. The production of missile interceptors for Patriots and rival systems is also backlogged.

Ukraine’s inability to beef up its air defenses comes as Moscow last week said it was preparing “massive strikes” against Kyiv’s energy infrastructure, with Ukrainian cities already struggling to intercept Russia’s daily missile barrage.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian intelligence has warned the Kremlin is eyeing up new ground offensives .

“I’m really — for the first time in the last five years — afraid of what [Russia] can achieve in these couple months,” said Solomiia Bobrovska, a lawmaker with the opposition Holos party who sits on the Ukrainian parliament’s defense committee.

Kyiv is growing increasingly annoyed at dwindling transfers of critical weapons.

“We are grateful to our partners,” said a senior Ukrainian government official, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. But “it’s an endless, frustrating saga when you have to beg for every single unit” that is delivered.

Out of stocks

With Kyiv’s stocks of Patriots effectively at zero, the Ukrainian government official explained, NATO’s PURL scheme — where allied countries buy critical U.S. arms — remains the “only credible source” of Patriots. In July, Kyiv said 95 percent of its stock arrived through that program.

However, that amounts to roughly “10 to 20 missiles per month,” said Dmytro Zhmailo, a military expert and deputy head of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre think tank, far short of what Kyiv needs given Russia fired 195 missiles in July alone.

Adding to Ukraine’s air defense problems, Russia is increasingly deploying upgraded jet-powered Shahed drones which fly faster and lower, making them difficult to shoot down, Zhmailo said. Kyiv is testing four prototypes to tackle the new drones, but for now it relies on limited stocks of expensive anti-aircraft missiles and artillery systems, he added.

“Ukraine has manufacturers capable of carrying out this task,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post on Thursday. “Prototypes have been developed, and work is underway to bring this new weapon to the required level of effectiveness.”

Out of options

Kyiv this week shared its three broad priorities with European countries, the Ukrainian official said, including air defense equipment, investments in the country’s drone and missile production and long-range artillery.

Zelenskyy has said Kyiv needs 300 Patriot interceptors to get through the winter. But more broadly, it also wants AMRAAM, IRIS-T and AIM-9X air-to-air missiles, as well as HAWK systems that are particularly effective against jet-powered drones, the official said.

Germany, which is hosting a virtual meeting of European countries to drum up support for more aid on Sept. 8, is expected to announce the delivery of new IRIS-T air defense missiles this month. France and Italy have also promised to supply Kyiv with Aster 30 interceptor missiles by October.

Five of the seven EU countries known to deploy Patriot systems — Germany, Poland, Romania, Spain and the Netherlands — have so far all transferred battery components or missiles to Ukraine. Greece and Sweden have not publicly transferred any, even if Stockholm has funded Patriot-related aid for Kyiv.

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Athens and Madrid this week came under pressure to send missiles, with several countries informally raising the issue on the sidelines of a meeting of EU defense ministers in Ireland on Tuesday, two EU diplomats said. However, the meeting ended with no new pledges.

Spain has already delivered some Patriot interceptors to Ukraine, a Spanish government official said, noting it was not ruling out giving more in future. The Greek ministry of defense didn’t respond to a request for comment by POLITICO, but its long-held refusal to share comes amid rising tensions with Turkey and existing air defense obligations toward Middle Eastern countries.

At NATO too, “there is very intense lobbying,” one alliance diplomat said. During a closed-door meeting of ambassadors Wednesday, NATO chief Mark Rutte encouraged allies to continue supplying military aid to Ukraine, two NATO diplomats said. While several countries said they were considering new aid packages, there were no specific offers.

Previous big suppliers like Germany have few Patriots left to give — and talks with countries outside Europe are also hitting a wall.

Tokyo “doesn’t have any plan to send interceptors to Ukraine,” said one Japanese official, pointing to the danger posed by North Korea. Seoul prefers to focus on “measures to help Ukraine recover peace and rebuild,” a South Korean official said.

Out of money

Even if there were interceptors on the market, Ukraine is strapped for cash.

Kyiv faces a €23 billion hole in its defense budget this year, Zelenskyy said last week, arguing the gap came after the defense ministry brought forward spending originally planned for the second half of 2026.

So far this year, Ukraine has been allocated around €22.1 billion of the €28.3 billion it can spend on defense from the EU’s €90 billion loan, said Zhmailo, the military expert. On Monday, the EU will discuss allocating several billion more for interceptors after Kyiv requested more money.

Funding for NATO’s PURL scheme is also on shaky ground, with pledges so far this year running far below Rutte’s goal of raising $12 billion.

NATO is currently preparing “four-to-five” new aid packages, with some announcements expected “in the coming weeks,” said a person familiar with the matter. But “we’re a little bit behind,” they acknowledged.

That’s prompting renewed pleas for both cash and interceptors from Europe.

“If they want Russia to win, the answer now is clear,” said Bobrovska, the lawmaker. “But if they want to see Ukraine winning, so we need [more] — it’s a matter of surviving.”