Zelenskyy says Patriot interceptor deliveries to Ukraine have slowed, domestic production stuck in paperwork
Ukraine's Patriot interceptor deliveries have slowed compared with a year ago, Zelenskyy said during his first visit to Serbia. Patriots are Ukraine's only weapon able to down ballistic missiles. Washington approved domestic production, but Zelenskyy says it's stuck in paperwork.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first-ever visit to Serbia on Saturday, meeting President Aleksandar Vucic as Belgrade continues scaling back its once-close ties with Moscow, the Associated Press reports. During the visit, Zelenskyy addressed Ukraine's air defense shortfall directly, saying deliveries of Patriot interceptors, the only weapon in Ukraine's arsenal capable of shooting down ballistic missiles, have slowed compared with a year ago. "There are fewer of these missiles in 2026. In 2025 there were more, I'll tell you honestly, in terms of monthly supplies," he said. Zelenskyy added that Washington has agreed to let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot interceptors domestically, but that the process remains stuck in paperwork. The bottleneck matters beyond logistics: with interceptor supply already falling and domestic production delayed by bureaucracy rather than a lack of political approval, Ukraine's capacity to intercept ballistic missile strikes is currently constrained by administrative process as much as by manufacturing capacity itself. Source: Associated Press