Ukraine runs out of Patriot interceptor missiles as Zelensky and Trump clash over war

Exclusive: Ukraine runs out of Patriot interceptor missiles as Zelensky and Trump clash over war

11 June 2024, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, —: Ukrainian soldiers stand at a military training ground during training of soldiers on the “Patriot” air defense missile system. The international reconstruction conference for Ukraine takes place on June 11 and 12. Photo by: Jens B’ttner/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Ukraine runs out of Patriot defense missiles, source says
3:03
Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine has run out of missiles for the US-made Patriot air defense system, leaving it more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missile attacks, a source familiar with the situation told CNN on Thursday.
The stark development comes amid an increasingly bitter public feud between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. In recent days, the White House struck a highly criticized deal to import Russian diesel and heaped increasing pressure on Ukraine to halt its strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure.

Zelensky said he felt betrayed by Trump’s deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has since announced Ukraine would continue striking Russian refineries.

For months, Zelensky has repeatedly warned that Ukraine is running out of the US-made Patriot interceptor missiles, which are one of the few defensive weapons capable of knocking down a ballistic missile.

But the interceptors are both expensive and in short supply globally, as other countries have burned through their stockpiles or sought to shore up their own defense systems amid the war in Iran.

The source told CNN that “almost all the ballistic missiles from the last strike were not intercepted due to lack of the (interceptor) missiles.”