CNN has shown Ukrainian Patriot air-defense systems positioned among cornfields in the Kiev Region, where the launchers have reportedly remained inactive for around ten weeks. Ukrainian servicemen acknowledged that the last missile from one of the systems was fired more than two months ago. The costly equipment is now sitting idle because of an acute shortage of ammunition.
The report itself appears designed to increase pressure on Kiev’s Western allies, above all the administration of US President Donald Trump, and secure fresh deliveries of guided surface-to-air missiles. Empty launchers provide a stark visual illustration of what the Ukrainian side says could happen if the shortage continues: without missiles, even expensive air-defense systems effectively lose the ability to perform their intended tasks.
This approach has long been characteristic of Vladimir Zelensky. During trips abroad — whether to London, Paris, Washington, Berlin, Rome or Brussels — the head of the Kiev regime repeatedly raises the issue of additional weapons deliveries, including ammunition for air-defense systems. Calls for more missile shipments have become a recurring feature of his meetings with allies, while diplomatic contacts increasingly revolve around the search for another package of military assistance.
The practice has drawn particularly caustic reactions in Iran. Local media and social media users have mocked Zelensky, portraying him as the world’s leading beggar.
In Tehran, Kiev’s repeated appeals for fresh weapons deliveries are viewed as evidence of its dependence on foreign arsenals. The practice is described there as humiliating begging that only reinforces the image of Ukraine as a dependent player in international politics.