Zelenskyy asks U.S. for urgent air defence help amid Russian threat of new strikes

'The current situation requires action, swift and effective action,' Zelenskyy tells Trump, Congress

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged U.S. President Donald Trump to ‌help Ukraine with air defence systems and interceptors as Russia threatens new strikes, saying ballistic missiles remain Moscow's "last major advantage on the battlefield."

In a letter to Trump and the U.S. Congress, seen by Reuters, Zelenskyy said: "I ask for your help in protecting Ukraine's skies from Russian missiles. We have already proposed that Ukraine is ready to purchase the number of Patriot systems and interceptor missiles we need."

Ukraine's only means to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles is U.S.-made interceptors for the Patriot air defence system.

Throughout four years of war, Kyiv has been short of interceptors, but the Iran war has threatened to make ⁠resources even more scarce.

At least 4 dead after Russia fires hypersonic Oreshnik missile in mass attack on Kyiv

Since Trump took ⁠office, Ukraine has been purchasing Patriot missiles through NATO's ‌Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, financed by its European allies.

"But the current pace of deliveries through the PURL program is no longer keeping up with the reality of the threat we face," Zelenskyy said in his letter.

"For us — for a nation fighting for its survival — there ⁠is hardly anything more painful to see than Patriot batteries with no missiles loaded," he added.

Washington did not immediately comment on the letter.

Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskyy noted it was rare for a foreign leader to address a letter simultaneously to the ‌U.S. president and Congress, "but the current situation requires action, swift and effective action. It is important that America hears Ukraine."

This week, I prepared a special letter addressed to the President of the United States and to Congress. And yesterday, the letter was officially delivered to the institutions in Washington. It is quite rare for the leader of another state to address both the President and… pic.twitter.com/FtHmdimd9A

Zelenskyy said ensuring Ukraine's protection from Russian ballistic missiles was critical to negotiating peace.

"The sooner we can provide greater protection against ballistic missiles, the faster we can ensure that diplomacy works," he said.

"As long as Russia relies on missiles, its interest in diplomacy is not genuine. We must correct this and we can only correct it ⁠together, with America."

The letter was first reported by Ukrainian media outlet The Kyiv Independent.

30 ballistic missiles fired Sunday

Russia used 30 ballistic missiles ⁠against Ukraine in its latest massive strike on Sunday, and only 11 of them were shot down, according ⁠to ⁠Ukraine's air force.

Zelenskyy also said Moscow's troops launched two nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic Oreshnik missiles in that strike.

"One struck the Kyiv region, while another, reportedly, fell in temporarily occupied territory in Ukraine's Donetsk ⁠region," he said.

In the letter, the Ukrainian leader outlined Ukraine's success in fending off Russia's full-scale aggression, now well into its fifth year, and expressed gratitude for U.S. support.

"But as long as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin still has even one meaningful advantage in conventional weapons, he will avoid conventional diplomacy. Today, his ballistic missiles remain exactly that — his last major advantage on the battlefield," Zelenskyy ⁠added.

In Britain on Wednesday, the U.K. cyberspying chief gave a speech that touched on the state of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Anne Keast-Butler, director of the communications intelligence agency GCHQ, said that Russian troops are "going backwards on the battlefield," with new intelligence suggesting "almost half a million Russian soldiers" have been killed since the full-scale invasion.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The two countries have been in a state of all-out war ever since.

With files from The Associated Press and CBC News