Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister: Ukraine Loans to Purchase Thousands of "Patriot" Missiles, Most Will Be Delivered Years Later

[Global Times Special Correspondent Yiven] Reuters reported on the 8th that Ukraine's acting Defense Minister Hryshchuk stated that Ukraine is procuring approximately 1,000 missiles compatible with the U.S. "Patriot" air defense system, with the assistance of allies and through loans from the European Union.

While speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Hryshchuk also mentioned that most of these missiles will not be delivered for several years and called for more urgent assistance. Subsequent statements released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense indicated that Hryshchuk stated Ukraine is requesting Western partners to allocate more air defense missiles from their stockpiles; in exchange, Ukraine will upgrade the missile performance according to the signed contracts. Hryshchuk also noted that there is a funding gap of $27 billion for drone supplies, which is constraining Ukraine.

After a brief ceasefire, Russia resumed near-continuous drone and missile attacks on Kyiv on Tuesday. Official reports stated that five people died in the capital, and casualties were also reported in several regions of Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg stated at the meeting that Ukraine's allies have no choice but to increase their assistance to help Kyiv "seize the opportunities created on all fronts while ensuring air defense."

According to Russian media reports, Russian presidential aide Ushakov stated on the 8th that the phone call between President Putin and U.S. President Trump was "constructive and very frank." Ushakov said that Trump expressed the need to end the Ukraine crisis during the call and hoped to achieve breakthroughs in mediation on the Ukraine issue during his presidency.