Zelensky Showing Signs of Desperation Over Patriot Air Defense Shortage Ahead of Russian Winter Strikes: German Die Welt

Patriot stockpiles around the world are dwindling.

All the MSM is awash with reports about the result of Ukrainian drone and missile strikes inside Russian territory.

And there’s no denying that they are taking a toll – even if it’s not nearly as grave as the wishful thinking of the partisan journalists would suggest.

But what is not nearly as well reported is the toll of the massive, unrelenting Russian strikes: the Ukrainian Black Sea ports have ceased operations; the military sites have been pounded non-stop; and, most importantly, the power generation and energy transmission infrastructure is hanging by a thread.

The terrible Ukraine blackouts of last winter may become even worse, and Ukraine now has no Patriot air defense missiles to try to shoot down the overwhelming Russian missiles and drones.

So, Kiev regime leader Volodymyr Zelensky is out begging for the – by now – rare Patriot missiles; something that German press calls ‘a sign of desperation’.

Zelensky on Patriot missiles:

“I’m asking American partners to sell us 5% of [Patriot] missiles from their stocks. If they sell us 5%, we will go through the winter and save people’s lives. If they can sell us 10%, we will destroy all the Russians’ ballistic missiles.” pic.twitter.com/l2jXz8I0nq

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 13, 2026

Die Welt reported:

“For Ukraine, the situation before winter is so precarious that Volodymyr Zelensky has not only called on his diplomats to sound the alarm all over the world, but is also doing so himself. ‘This year I am asking our US partners to sell me five percent of their missile stockpiles’, Zelensky said in an interview with CNN on Thursday. If that happens, the president said, ‘we will survive the winter and save lives. If they sell us ten percent, we will destroy all of Russia’s ballistic missiles’.

Zelensky’s cry for help is a sign of desperation. Air defense missiles are in short supply all over the world. Neither the Europeans nor the USA have had enough. Just a few weeks ago, media reports made the rounds that Donald Trump’s options for action in the Iran war are limited due to a dramatically reduced missile stockpile.”

By now, everyone understands that Donald J. Trump’s ‘promise’ to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot anti-aircraft missiles was made ‘in the heat of the moment’.

“We haven’t talked to the companies yet”, Trump admitted.

“Trump revised his assessment a few weeks later. ‘It’s a difficult thing’, he said with a view to the release of corresponding intellectual property during the cabinet meeting in Camp David two weeks ago. ‘We haven’t agreed on it yet’, Trump said. There is a risk that ‘the people you give the technology to turn against you’, he added.

[…] Apart from the political decision required for licensing a co-production of the state-of-the-art missile with Ukraine, the manufacturer would also have to agree. ‘I strongly doubt that Lockheed Martin will release the keys to its production’, said JC Lintzenich, Visiting Senior Fellow of the German Marshall Fund (GMF) in Washington, in an interview with WELT. Previously, he was chief security policy advisor to Republican Senator Thom Tillis. ‘These are the crown jewels of the company and no one wants them to fall into the hands of China or Russia and be copied there’, he said.”

But even is the license was indeed given, production in large quantities would be years off ‘due to the complexity’.

In 2025, Lockheed Martin delivered 620 missile units, and the only licensed production abroad, in Japan, delivers only 30 units per year ‘because key components are missing’.

As we see, what’s not in shortage are reasons for Zelensky’s desperation.

Read more:

Kiev Didn’t Shoot Down ANY Russian Missiles in Wednesday’s Massive Strike – Ukraine Lacks Patriot Batteries and Missiles – Reports Say Trump Denied Zelensky’s Air Defense Request