🔶 Zelensky calls for domestic production of Patriot missiles in Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, said in a nighttime video message on Thursday, 11 Tir (July 2), “In order for us to truly protect people’s lives, Ukraine needs domestic production of Patriot missiles.” Zelensky spoke about the possibility of creating a European production line on Ukrainian soil or producing jointly with partner countries, adding that if such a plan were carried out, Ukraine would also be ready to support the United States in various operations. A broad coalition of countries supporting Ukraine has so far provided this country with air defense systems, including the American Patriot system and the German IRIS-T air defense system. The missiles required for these systems are, however, very expensive and scarce. The war in Iran has also caused shortages of these missiles to intensify even more. Zelensky hopes the United States will grant Ukraine permission to produce Patriot missiles. For example, MBDA Deutschland’s defense industry company in Bavaria, Germany, produces Patriot missiles as part of a joint investment with the American company Raytheon. In a statement, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said that countering ballistic missiles, due to a shortage of missiles for Patriot systems, has now become one of the country’s most important challenges. Mikhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s defense minister, has so far contacted at least 40 of Ukraine’s partner countries and asked them to provide Ukraine with Patriot missiles available in their stockpiles. In return, these countries are expected to receive replacement missiles in the future under the agreement. The most intense Russian attacks since the start of the war jolted the city of Kyiv early Thursday, 11 Tir (July 2). According to data from officials, at least 27 people were killed and 91 others were injured in the Russian attack on Kyiv. Zelensky promised that these attacks would not go unanswered. Moscow, for its part, said it intends to increase its “pressure” on Kyiv even further. Although such an attack was expected and Zelensky had warned his country’s people before it happened, Kyiv’s air defense system could not effectively deal with the attacks. The main reason was the very large number of targets and the variety of the attacker’s objectives. By carrying out several waves of attacks, Russia put Ukraine’s air defenses under pressure and used in a coordinated manner drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles to force Ukraine’s air defense systems out of their ability to respond to the volume of the attacks. According to Ukrainian officials, this country performs relatively well in intercepting drones. But when it comes to cruise missiles, the interception success rate is far lower, and the “Iskander” ballistic missiles continue to cause very serious problems for Kyiv’s air defenses.