Zelenskyy Says Ukraine Gets About 12 Patriot Missiles a Month From the US This Year

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is receiving an average of 12 missiles a month for its Patriot air defence systems in 2026, describing the supply of interceptors as one of the most difficult parts of its weapons purchases from the United States.

Speaking to the press, in comments reported by Ukrinform, Zelenskyy said Ukraine buys a great deal of equipment from the US. "Europe paid for them, everything arrived, and everything was fine," he said. "But some things are a real challenge, especially Patriot missiles."

The president said he works daily to secure interceptors and must seek new aid packages every week to defend the country against Russian ballistic missile attacks.

According to Zelenskyy, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved a package of 12 missiles. He said that is welcome news, but noted that Ukraine has already used 35 missiles this month. The outstanding issue, he said, is approval for a further 23 missiles that Kyiv has obtained from other sources.

Zelenskyy also described a meeting with Donald Trump in New York, where he asked the US president to approve a "winter package" of missiles. He said he laid out how many missiles Ukraine required and told Trump that, if the request were granted, Ukraine would not strike oil refineries.

When Trump asked where such missiles could be found, Zelenskyy said he named the countries that hold them. In his account, Trump answered that the United States would do everything it could to help, but that it also needed the missiles itself and had limited stocks.

The comments follow an announcement on 26 October, when Zelenskyy said Kyiv had been waiting nearly a month for Hegseth to sign off on missiles for the Patriot and NASAMS air defence systems. He said at that time that he had instructed his team to take up the matter with the US side again.