Ukraine reveals a weak point: The weapon exists – the ammunition is almost gone

One of the most sought-after air defense systems in the world stands almost idle in Ukraine just when it is needed more than ever. In a report published today (Tuesday) by CNN, a Patriot system was revealed for the first time on Ukrainian soil, with its 16 launch canisters empty of interceptors. Crew members said the shortage has reached a point where Russian ballistic missiles fly over them, and they have nothing to intercept them with. In the background: a huge global demand for Patriot interceptors, which has intensified following their extensive use in the war against Iran.

The Patriot system exists, the crews are at their posts, and the Russian missiles keep coming, but the interceptors are missing. Ukraine is facing a severe shortage of one of the most important defense assets at its disposal against Moscow's ballistic missiles.

CNN was exceptionally granted access to a Patriot system stationed on Ukrainian soil. The media outlet agreed not to reveal its location or the exact model, but the images from the site illustrated the scale of the problem: the 16 launch canisters revealed were empty.

Dmytro, the system's chief engineer, whose full name was not published for security reasons, said he had not seen a Patriot launcher fire for six weeks.

"It's a truly heartbreaking sight when you have the equipment but you are unable to intercept any missile. Ballistic missiles fly over your head and you are unable to do anything about it, and behind you are civilians," he said.

According to him, the first time he found himself without interceptors was in December 2025. He described the feeling: "It's hard to describe – strong and bad feelings. It's like you're learning to walk, but you're unable to walk. You know how to breathe, but you're unable to breathe."

Ukraine avoids revealing exactly how many Patriot interceptors it has left, if any. President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needs about 5% of the United States' interceptor stockpile to survive the winter, but according to him, it currently holds an amount equivalent to only about 1%.

Another crew member, responsible for the command center, said that the decision of which threat to intercept requires experience and is made by the unit commander. "It's hard, because you see targets flying and threatening the civilian population, critical infrastructure, and also the families of my friends and myself," he said.

Ukraine's problem is part of a much broader crisis. Many countries are trying to stock up on Patriot interceptors, and the war against Iran has dramatically increased the rate of their use. According to the data brought in the report, coalition forces used an average of about 225 interceptors per day in the first four days of the war against Iran. For comparison, the manufacturer Lockheed Martin produced about 620 interceptors during 2025 – an average of only about 1.7 per day. In other words, in the first days of the war, the rate of use was about 132 times greater than the average annual production rate of 2025.

Dmytro said that the crew members in Ukraine understood already at the beginning of the campaign in the Middle East that the extensive use of interceptors might hurt them too. "We predicted that we would be in trouble. We were very shocked by the amount of missiles they launched at that time – the same missiles that we can use against the Russian ballistic missiles," he said.

The gap between demand and production capacity led the Pentagon to sign a seven-year agreement in January, under which Lockheed Martin is supposed to gradually increase output to 2,000 interceptors per year by 2030.

Against the backdrop of the shortage, Zelensky is trying to promote an ambitious solution: producing Patriot interceptors on Ukrainian soil under an American license. According to him, he even offered the American manufacturers ownership and control of a factory to be established in the country. "This will be your company," Zelensky recounted saying to the companies' representatives. "These will be our minds, our hands, our engineers. And I will do my best to build a big company for them, because I don't need to sell them to anyone else – I need them for my country."

On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara in June, President Donald Trump offered Ukraine licenses that would allow it to start producing the interceptors. Later, representatives of the American companies arrived in Kyiv and met with Zelensky, but afterwards, Trump expressed doubts regarding the implementation of the move. "I want to get this," said Zelensky. "I think his word is the word of the President of the United States. And I hope I will get this."

However, the White House clarified to CNN that no decision has been made and no commitment has been given regarding the production of the interceptors, and that the protection of American technology is a top priority. Even if the approval is given, it is not an immediate solution. When Dmytro was asked if Ukraine could have started producing the system and interceptors immediately if the intellectual property restrictions were removed, he replied: "No. Definitely not, because it is a very complex process that requires a lot of knowledge and a great deal of technical information."