Military & Defense
Zelensky: Ukraine is getting an average of 12 Patriot missiles a month in 2026, after using 35 this month
President Zelensky says Ukraine will receive an average of 12 Patriot missiles a month in 2026 under PURL, and that he has used 35 this month, leaving a gap of 23.
Ukraine is receiving an average of 12 Patriot missiles a month in 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on 28 October, adding that he has used 35 interceptors this month and is short of the 23 needed to cover the gap. He spoke to journalists, according to the Ukrinform news agency, which reported the remarks.
Zelensky said the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, known as PURL, covers many items, including 20-millimetre rounds for the F-16, HIMARS munitions and Patriot missiles. “We buy a lot from the U.S. Europe paid, everything arrived, and everything was fine,” he said, but for Patriots “it’s a major challenge. Twelve missiles a month, on average—that’s what we’ll be getting in 2026.”
A package awaiting approval
The president described a package of 12 missiles from the United States that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed. “But I’ve used 35 this month,” Zelensky said, and the question concerns the 23 he found elsewhere. He said that when he met US President Donald Trump in New York he asked for a “winter package”, and that he told Trump Ukraine would not strike any oil refineries if it received the missiles he specified. According to Zelensky, Trump asked where the missiles could be found, was told which countries hold them, and replied that they would do their best but that the US itself does not have many.
Zelensky said he works on the search for interceptors every day, and is grateful whenever a country offers 2, 5, 10 or 20 missiles. “We need approval from the United States. That’s all,” he said.
Earlier statements
Ukrinform recalled that in an interview with TSN.Tyzhden Zelensky said progress on Patriot missiles was being made but very slowly, with delays at the level of the US Department of Defense for some vital supplies. In an ABC News interview he said Ukraine had received only 24 Patriot interceptors from the United States over the past three months, although its needs were much greater.
These are the Ukrainian president’s own figures; we have not seen a US government statement on the deliveries in question. For earlier coverage see Zelensky: Patriot and NASAMS delays “directly assist” Russia, as Kyiv reports 16 ballistic missiles and 280 drones overnight and Zelensky presses for Patriot interceptors as Ukraine’s Air Force reports 140 drones and four missiles overnight.
