Ukraine is being forced to rethink how it protects itself from Russian strikes as its stocks of Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles are nearly exhausted and Russia increases weapons production. According to The Economist, Kyiv has two main options in the current situation.

The first is to strengthen the protection of infrastructure and industrial facilities. This would involve fortifying and concealing them, while stockpiling spare parts in advance so that damaged facilities can be repaired quickly.

The second option identified by The Economist is a left-of-launch strategy, which involves destroying or neutralizing Russian missile systems before they can launch their missiles.

The publication notes, however, that even improvements to Ukraine’s own weapons will not make it easy for Kyiv to counter Russian missiles. Ukraine’s stocks of Patriot PAC-3 interceptors are nearly depleted, while Russia continues to increase production of its most dangerous weapons.

According to The Economist, the strain on Ukraine’s air defenses has become so severe that the Ukrainian Air Force has stopped publishing what the publication describes as demoralizing data on the scale of Russian strikes. Kyiv has been warning of a critical shortage of air defense missiles since the spring. In late July, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine was facing a serious shortage of such munitions from its allies.

Developments in the Middle East have also contributed to dwindling Patriot interceptor stocks, as the missiles were used to defend against Iranian attacks. Other countries, meanwhile, are reluctant to provide Ukraine with missiles from their own inventories because they are uncertain how quickly those stocks can be replenished.

Against the backdrop of the interceptor shortage, Bloomberg columnist Mark Champion previously outlined three possible scenarios for Kyiv: withdrawing Ukrainian forces from Donbas, receiving additional weapons from allies, or continuing the conflict into 2027 and beyond.