Zelenskyy asks Trump for more US air-defense help

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked President Donald Trump and Congress for more U.S. air-defense help after a fresh wave of Russian attacks exposed what Kyiv says are worsening shortages of interceptor missiles and other equipment, according to Reuters and the Kyiv Independent.

The request puts a battlefield shortage in front of Washington. Ukrainian officials say the problem is no longer a risk for some later stage of the war. They say it is now affecting how long the country can absorb a heavier Russian strike tempo, with Zelenskyy seeking Patriot missiles and other air-defense systems as Moscow keeps pressing Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian officials are no longer treating the shortfall as an abstract logistics problem. Their argument is that delivery schedules now have to match the pace of repeated Russian barrages if cities are to stay covered.

Zelenskyy described the need in direct terms in comments reported by the Kyiv Independent. “When it comes to air defense against missiles, we rely on our friends,” he said.

Kyiv’s case centres on ammunition and interception capacity. Ukrainian officials say Russia’s combination of drones and faster missiles can wear down defenses even when many incoming weapons are still being shot down. The public appeal to Trump puts that pressure in front of Washington as a request for faster resupply.

Reuters reported that Russia used 30 ballistic missiles in Sunday’s massive strike and that Ukraine said it shot down 11 of them. The Kyiv Independent separately reported that an overnight attack on May 24 involved 90 missiles and 600 drones. Ukrainian officials cite those figures as evidence that stock levels and delivery speed matter as much as broad promises of support.

The Reuters and PBS/AP accounts describe a defense network that is still intercepting large numbers of drones but is under heavier strain from ballistic missiles. Kyiv’s argument is that the system stays effective only if replacement missiles and other equipment arrive quickly enough to match repeated attacks.

Rising strike pressure

A report from PBS NewsHour, citing AP said Ukraine has intercepted more than 90 per cent of incoming drones during the war, but the missile threat has kept pressure on the most valuable parts of its air-defense network. Zelenskyy’s message to Washington is that Russia can keep forcing Ukraine to spend scarce interceptors as long as large barrages continue.

Reuters reported that Zelenskyy also made the case in a letter, saying “the current pace of deliveries through the PURL program is no longer keeping up with the reality of the threat we face.”

He made a second appeal in the same message. “I ask for your help in protecting Ukraine’s skies from Russian missiles,” Reuters quoted him as telling Trump.

By directing the appeal to both Trump and Congress, Zelenskyy is widening the audience for a shortage Ukrainian officials say can no longer be managed under current schedules. The issue for Kyiv is whether Western resupply can keep pace with Russia’s strike volume over the coming weeks. For Washington, the question is whether air-defense deliveries can be accelerated fast enough to prevent wider gaps in Ukraine’s coverage.