Ukraine Runs Out of Patriot Missiles as Trump-Zelenskyy Rift Deepens

Ukraine has exhausted its stockpile of interceptor missiles for the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system. The depletion could leave Kyiv with a critical gap in its defenses against Russian ballistic missiles as Moscow intensifies attacks on energy infrastructure ahead of winter and relations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump deteriorate.

“As of Oct. 7, there were only 10 missiles left; these were used up during the attacks,” an anonymous Ukrainian official told The Washington Post. A source told CNN that “almost all the ballistic missiles from the last strike were not intercepted due to lack of the (interceptor) missiles.”

The Patriot system is a key component of Ukraine’s defenses against Russian ballistic missiles, including the Iskander-M. The shortage highlights the difference between the number of launchers available and the number of incoming missiles Ukrainian forces can intercept.

Russian Strikes Raise Pressure on Ukraine’s Air Defenses

Russia launched 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones at Ukraine overnight on Oct. 14, targeting energy facilities and other critical infrastructure in Kyiv and Kharkiv, according to Zelenskyy. At least 600,000 people were left without electricity, he said, adding that damage was recorded at 26 power generation facilities and four oil and gas facilities.

One of the targets was Darnytsia Combined Heat and Power Plant No. 4, a major energy facility in Kyiv. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed deaths and injuries in a residential building struck during the same assault. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian air defense systems detected incoming missiles only as they approached the city. He criticized the lack of advance warning from Ukraine’s partners in a Facebook post.

“A Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. Once again, no early warning from our partners,” Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook, adding that “this is absolutely unjust: when they are destroying our infrastructure, and Ukraine is not even receiving early warnings about ballistic missile launches.”

Ukraine Faces a Growing Patriot Missile Supply Gap

Western deliveries of Patriot interceptors to Ukraine reportedly fell from 675 missiles in 2023 to 364 in 2025, with 264 planned for 2026. Zelenskyy said Ukraine had been receiving roughly three times fewer anti-ballistic missiles than it needed to equip its Patriot and other air defense systems since the beginning of 2026.

The United States halted direct Patriot supplies to Ukraine after diverting stockpiles to the Middle East following the outbreak of the 2026 Iran war. Trump also agreed to give Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot interceptors, although Zelenskyy acknowledged that the country’s partners “do have the missiles.”

A manufacturing license doesn’t establish when domestic production could begin or how many interceptors Ukraine could produce. The arrangement’s practical impact will depend on implementation, production capacity and access to the necessary components.

A senior NATO official told The Washington Post that the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a mechanism through which European countries fund U.S.-made weapons for Ukraine, remained operational and that “air defense munitions like Patriot interceptors continue to flow.”

Trump-Zelenskyy Rift Deepens Over War and Energy Policy

The reported depletion of Patriot interceptors comes as Zelenskyy and Trump publicly disagree over the direction of the war and the terms of a possible settlement. Trump called for a change in Ukraine’s leadership during remarks at the White House on Oct. 10. “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal,” Trump told reporters, arguing that Zelenskyy could have settled the fighting several times but had chosen not to.

The dispute has also involved U.S. energy policy and Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. Trump waived sanctions on Russian diesel exports, a move he framed as necessary to reduce U.S. fuel prices ahead of the November midterm elections, according to the supplied reporting. He has also pressed Zelenskyy to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries, arguing that the strikes are contributing to higher diesel prices.

On Oct. 11, Trump announced on Truth Social that “both parties have agreed” to an immediate “energy ceasefire.” Moscow hadn’t publicly confirmed the agreement, however, and Russian strikes on Ukrainian power facilities continued. Zelenskyy said the announcement took him by surprise.

Responding to Trump’s call for his removal, Zelenskyy told ABC’s “This Week”, “Please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organize elections.” Following the Oct. 14 attacks, Zelenskyy described the assault as “a targeted Russian ballistic strike specifically against the energy sector, for which the U.S. president had declared a ceasefire,” calling it “the most blatant disrespect toward the United States” Russia had shown.

European allies have backed Zelenskyy’s legitimacy and expressed skepticism about the proposed energy ceasefire. The European Union’s top diplomat said she saw no sign that Russia was willing to observe the pause. Ukraine’s requests for additional Patriot interceptors, air defense systems and manufacturing support remain unresolved, with the timing and scale of future deliveries still uncertain.