Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for more U.S.-made Patriot missile interceptors on Sunday after a Russian missile-and-drone attack on Kyiv left at least one Ukrainian dead and more than a dozen wounded.
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In a social media post, Mr. Zelenskyy said Russia launched more than 40 missiles and 120 drones in the attack, which reportedly sparked fires in five districts across the Ukrainian capital city.
It’s the latest in a series of increasingly aggressive assaults by Russia against Kyiv and other key cities in Ukraine, as the Kremlin seeks to use Ukraine’s dwindling missile-defense capabilities as leverage to extract concessions and a highly favorable deal from Mr. Zelenskyy’s government.
Over the past week, Russia fired more than 1,400 drones and nearly 100 missiles at Ukraine, Mr. Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian forces are highly effective at repelling drone attacks, but Russian ballistic missiles now pose the most serious problem.
“Protection against ballistic missiles is our constant and top priority right now. Interceptors are needed every day, and I am grateful to everyone who takes our agreements seriously and ensures the delivery of anti-ballistic capabilities,” Mr. Zelenskyy posted on social media. “Right now, these packages are literally saving lives during every massive Russian attack.”
Patriot missile interceptors are a key defensive capability for many nations. U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf rely heavily on Patriots to stop Iranian ballistic missile attacks, as do American military bases in those countries.
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With the U.S. defense industrial base seemingly unable to make enough of them in the timeframe required, President Trump recently announced that Ukraine would be given a license to make Patriot interceptors itself.
Still, actual production in Ukraine may not start for years. It’s unclear exactly what any production arrangement between Ukraine and the two prime U.S. defense contractors that make the Patriot system, RTX and Lockheed Martin, will look like.
Ukraine will also face the same defense manufacturing hurdles confronting the American industrial base.
The Patriot relies on a solid-rocket motor. Production of that component is deeply strained, to the point that the Pentagon has said it will take a direct financial stake in a private company to help speed up the process.
But the problems go even deeper. As international demand for air defense capabilities has increased, the single U.S. source of ammonium perchlorate — a critical chemical in solid rocket motors — has been squeezed to maximum capacity.
• John T. Seward contributed to this article, which is based in part on wire service reports.
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