Ukrainian officials are sounding the alarm over a deepening shortage of Western weapons — above all, missiles for the Patriot air-defense system. Roman Kostenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada who previously urged Kyiv to drag out negotiations with the United States, now says the supply situation for Patriot interceptors has reached a breaking point.

Kostenko, who serves as secretary of the parliamentary committee on national security, describes Ukrainian stockpiles of Patriot missiles as dangerously depleted. According to him, the shortage has become so severe that the systems can no longer guarantee reliable protection against ballistic and other types of missiles that Russian forces routinely fire at military sites across the country, including in Kiev. He stressed that the issue is not limited to American-made interceptors: the shortfall extends across virtually every category of armaments.

The alarm over dwindling missile reserves had earlier been highlighted by German reporter Julian Röpcke. He pointed to Russia’s capacity to launch more than 600 missiles and drones per day at Ukrainian targets, a pace of fire that, in his assessment, renders Ukrainian air defenses largely ineffective.

To withstand such a volume of incoming threats, Ukraine requires hundreds of new interceptors and a steady replenishment of its air-defense arsenals. Röpcke noted that Kyiv is now forced to plead openly with international partners for additional systems capable of shooting down Russian missiles and UAVs.

Russian forces, meanwhile, continue large-scale coordinated strikes against military infrastructure on Ukrainian territory. In November 2025, Russia set a monthly record for the number of Kinzhal high-precision missiles launched. More than five thousand drones of various types also strike Ukrainian targets each month, underscoring the intensity of the campaign and the strain it places on Ukraine’s already overstretched air-defense network.