Ukraine meets Russian ballistic missiles with “empty Patriot systems” because the interceptors it seeks keep going to the Middle East, leaving it in most cases with nothing to shoot the missiles down, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Denmark’s parliament on 11 November.

Ukraine needs Patriots and the European SAMP/T to stop Russia’s ballistic missiles, which Russia fires at Ukrainian cities and at the power grid that keeps people warm in winter. Those strikes are intensifying. On 7 November, Russia launched 36 missiles on ballistic paths in one night, and Ukraine downed four, Zelenskyy wrote. That single night equaled about a quarter of October’s total. Russia fired ballistic missiles again on the night of 12 November, and Ukraine’s Air Force reported downing none of them. The Patriot shortage itself is months old: in October, Ukraine downed 11 of the roughly 150 ballistic missiles Russia fired, about 7%, according to Air Force figures. What is new is that Europe’s backup appears to be thinning too.

A day earlier, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told reporters that Italy has Aster missiles it needs to keep for itself, and declined to say what Rome’s new aid package for Kyiv contains. The Asters set aside for Ukraine are reportedly exhausted, and Rome may in effect suspend deliveries, as Germany did with Patriot systems, the Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported on 11 November.

What Ukraine still has against ballistic missiles

Ukraine’s air force has two SAMP/T batteries, and few Asters reach them. Ukraine has received about 12 Patriot missiles a month from the US this year, Zelenskyy told journalists on 27 October. The 500 PAC-3s Washington approved may take years to arrive.

At the same time, Kyiv is going after the launchers. Ukrainian forces have hit eight Russian ballistic missile systems since September and destroyed three, a minister said in October. Ukraine has also asked the E5 group, which includes Italy and Germany, to consider handing over 10% of their Patriot and IRIS-T interceptors in exchange for deliveries Kyiv has already contracted, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on 26 October.

Zelenskyy pitches FREYJA in Copenhagen

In the same speech, Zelenskyy urged Danish lawmakers to back FREYJA, the joint European anti-ballistic program, which he said 11 countries have joined. Its office is ready to open in Copenhagen together with Norway, he said. Ukraine says it has finished its part of the project, while partners are still working on their share, and the program runs on an early-2027 clock.