KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that he had spoken with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about the possibility of securing more air defence interceptors._x000D_
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“Mark is well-informed â about the threats, and we have coordinated our efforts regarding countries that possess the necessary missiles and the capability to help,” Zelenskiy wrote in English on social media platform X. “It is crucial â to eliminate all bureaucracy and make the required political decisions.”_x000D_
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After speaking with the Ukrainian leader, Rutte â said in a post on X that he is “discussing with Allies how â we can continue to get Ukraine the air defences â they urgently need”._x000D_
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Earlier, President Zelenskiy said that allies have supplied just a third of the air defence missiles to Ukraine in 2026 compared with 2025._x000D_
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Ukraine has been short on US-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles since the start of the war._x000D_
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But in recent weeks, the acute shortage came into focus, with Moscow pummelling Kyiv, on average, every three days in July alone._x000D_
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“And this is not â just a summer phenomenon – it applies to every period of the first half of 2026,” Zelenskiy added on the Telegram app._x000D_
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In what has become a pattern in recent weeks, Ukrainian air defences failed to intercept a single one of the 24 ballistic missiles and four Zircon cruise missiles during Wednesday’s attack, the air force said._x000D_
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Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s president on the development of defence technology, estimates that Russia is capable of launching 100 ballistic missiles every month to attack logistic hubs, industrial facilities, â food and building warehouses._x000D_
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“The war of attrition has entered its next phase,” he said on the Telegram app.
