Ukraine receives air defense missiles from allies ‘one or two at a time,’ Zelenskyy says
Ukraine is receiving critically needed air defense missiles from its allies in batches as small as one or two, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying Kyiv has to piece together hundreds of missiles from limited supplies across partner countries.
Speaking at a briefing in New York, Zelenskyy said individual countries often cannot provide Ukraine with large batches because the missiles are expensive and in short supply.
“Two at a time. One at a time. We are taking steps that we will talk about after the war,” Zelenskyy said. “No one is talking about hundreds or thousands. Hundreds are being collected one or two missiles at a time.”
He said decisions to provide even two, three or five missiles often have to be made directly by national leaders.
According to Zelenskyy, the United States is the only country capable of supplying missiles on a larger scale, but its own stocks are under pressure because of the war in the Middle East.
“I am asking President Trump to meet us halfway, despite the fact that there is a major shortage and everyone’s stocks are half-empty because of the war in the Middle East,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy previously said Ukraine had received three times fewer missiles capable of defending against ballistic threats this year than in 2025, with partners citing fighting in the Middle East as the reason.
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