Zelenskyy: Ukraine needs more interceptor drones, but work on Patriot continues

Ukraine now has more Patriot systems, but will continue to work on obtaining even more of them. At the same time, the current priority for the country is interceptor drones.

About this, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated.

"There are more ’Patriots’ in Ukraine, and we are putting them into operation. Of course, for the entire territory of our state, we need more systems to protect key infrastructure facilities and our cities, and we will continue to work to achieve this," he emphasized.

The President added that negotiations are being conducted not only with state leaders but also with manufacturers of air defense systems and missiles for them.

"There will be meetings on this next week; we have presented all calculations and possible options to our partners on how to ensure sufficiently reliable air defense," Zelenskyy said.

The country’s leader reminded that Ukraine is forced to defend itself daily from Russian ballistic attacks. He added that it is necessary to continue destroying Russian military aviation, which requires a multi-component air defense system.

"This includes our military aviation, and there are decisions on this regarding both ’Gripens’ and French aircraft; we are working on F-16s. Also, air defense systems and missiles for them, the development of mobile fire groups, and, of course, the current priority is interceptor drones," the President reported.

According to him, the number of interceptor drones for 2025 will be as determined by the state task. He also emphasized the need for a rapid and high-quality increase in the number of trained drone operators.