Zelenskyy sends letters to USA about air defense shortage
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent a letter to US President Donald Trump and the US Congress regarding the shortage of air defense systems, Presidential Communications Advisor Dmytro Lytvyn has said.
"It is true, to the US President and Congress," Lytvyn told journalists on Wednesday.
Earlier, media reports indicated that Zelenskyy had sent an urgent letter to Trump warning of a critical shortage of air defense.
Specifically, according to information from the Kyiv Independent, Zelenskyy sent a letter to US President Donald Trump warning of a deepening deficit of air defense systems in Ukraine, particularly missile defense assets.
"When it comes to air defense against missiles, we rely on our friends," the letter, seen by the Kyiv Independent, reads. "When it comes to defending against ballistic missiles, we rely almost exclusively on the United States."According to an official, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US Olha Stefanishyna sent the letter to the White House, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and other members of Congress.
The message also reflects Kyiv’s growing concern regarding difficulties in securing weapons under the Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program, which allows NATO members to fund the procurement of American weapons for Ukraine.
"The current pace of deliveries through the PURL program is no longer keeping up with the reality of the threat we face," the letter says. "I ask for your help in protecting Ukraine’s skies from Russian missiles."
"I, on behalf of the Ukrainian people, respectfully ask the president and the US Congress to remain engaged," the letter says. "And to help us secure this vital tool of protection against Russian terror — Patriot missiles PAC-3 and additional systems — to stop Russian ballistic missiles and other Russian missile attacks."
Moscow is increasingly combining military escalation with public threats. On May 25, Russia announced plans for another round of massive long-range strikes on Kyiv, calling these attacks a response to a Ukrainian strike in the occupied Luhansk region.
