U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday chided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request to purchase Patriot air defense systems. Zelensky made that statement during an interview that aired Sunday on CBS News‘ 60 Minutes program.
“He’s always looking to purchase missiles,” Trump said when asked about Zelensky’s offer. “Listen, when you start a war, you got to know that you can win the war, right? You don’t start a war against somebody that’s 20 times your size, and then hope that people give you some missiles.”
The comments from Trump, made during a press conference with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, are the latest manifestation of a rocky relationship between the two leaders. That discontent reached its peak in February during a disastrous Oval Office meeting.
The Biden administration provided Ukraine with three Patriot batteries and an unspecified number of missiles, according to the Pentagon. Faced with ongoing Russian airstrikes and a growing lack of air defense systems and munitions, Zelensky told the network that he wants to buy an additional 10 Patriot air defense systems from the United States, valued at about $1.5 billion a piece. He also called on European partners to help finance the deal. In all, Zelensky wants to purchase a $50B package of arms from the United States.
“There is a Patriot system, and you have a lot of them, and you have production,” Zelensky said he told Trump. “There are several steps to protect Ukraine. Step number one: one system that costs one and a half billion dollars; we are ready to buy at least 10 systems to cover some cities, only civilians, and city centers where people are crowded… We will find this money, and we will pay everything.”
While Zelensky seems to be asking for the purchase of new Patriot systems, as we previously pointed out, the U.S. is facing extreme demand for its own existing ones. Concerns about what this means for the prospect of adequately defending U.S. forces deployed overseas, as well as the U.S. homeland, is something senior U.S. military leaders, as well as The War Zone, have been drawing attention to for some time.
Short of buying Patriot systems directly, Zelensky suggested a second option of licensing the manufacture of these systems and the corresponding missiles. That seems very unlikely considering the technologies and sensitivities surrounding the Patriot system, but licensed manufacturing of certain components of the system does exist today among key allies.
Regardless, even if Zelensky is able to come up with the $15 billion in financing to move the order ahead, it would take years for the systems to arrive in Ukraine given the limited (but expanding) production capacity and the backlog of existing domestic and foreign orders. European or other customers, including the U.S., could defer some of their orders to Ukraine, but considering the fears of larger wars in both hemispheres, such generosity may be hard to come by.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is seeking European investment in a domestically made strategic-level air defense system, according to the nation’s foreign minister.
Speaking to the European Union’s Council of Foreign Ministers on Monday, Andriy Sybiga pointed to yesterday’s deadly Russian attack on Sumy and the recent strike on Kryvyi Rih as reasons why Europeans should provide funding to accelerate the implementation of this developing air defense system.
Sybiga, however, did not offer any details about what kinds of launchers, sensors, and effectors this system will contain.
“I call on your governments and municipalities to consider providing additional support for Sumy and Kryvyi Rih, for the people in these cities,” Sybiga stated. “All of Ukraine will be grateful to you for this.” In addition, he called on Europe to increase military assistance to Ukraine, primarily by strengthening its air defense capabilities with additional [systems], launchers, missiles and spare parts.”
Back in February, Zelensky announced that Ukraine was developing an analog of the Patriot air defense system. Previously, Zelensky said he was receiving calls from the military about a shortage of missiles for the American systems. A Trump administration pause in providing Ukraine with arms and intelligence, made after the Oval Office blowout, exacerbated Ukraine’s lack of air defense munitions.
Ukraine is not alone in seeking Patriot effectors. Last year, NATO announced a plan to buy 1,000 Patriot missiles and bring production to Europe spurred by the war and a growing concern about Russian aggression.
The Ukrainian leaders’ comments about air defense systems came after Russian missiles struck the heart of the Ukrainian city of Sumy as people gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, killing at least 34 people, The Associated Press reported on Monday, citing officials said.
The two ballistic missiles hit around 10:15 a.m., officials told the wire service. Images from the scene showed lines of black body bags on the side of the road, while more bodies were seen wrapped in foil blankets among the debris. Video footage also showed fire crews fighting to extinguish the shells of burned-out cars among the rubble from damaged buildings.
“Yesterday’s strike alone claimed 34 lives and left 119 people injured,” Zelensky said. “Tragically, 2 children were killed, and another 15 were wounded.”
Multiple officials, including Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak and U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink, reported that Russia used cluster munitions in the attack on Sumy, according to the Kyiv Independent.
The Sumy attack was “a mistake,” said Trump, The New York Times reported on Monday.
“I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on Sunday. “But I think it’s a horrible thing.”
Some top officials in the Trump administration, however, were more explicit about blaming Russia, the publication explained.
“Keith Kellogg, a retired U.S. general and Mr. Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine said that Russian forces had crossed ‘any line of decency’ by targeting civilians in Sumy,” the Times stated. “Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned what he described as a ‘horrifying Russian missile attack on Sumy.”
Russia on Monday claimed that the attack “targeted a gathering of Ukrainian troops, while European leaders condemned the attack as a war crime,” according to AP.
Trump’s comments about Zelensky’s request come as the U.S. president is seeking to broker a more substantial ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv leading eventually to a peace deal between the two warring nations. Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was in Moscow last week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meetings were “extremely useful,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on April 14. A recording of the meeting sparked outrage in Ukraine.
While we can’t know how serious Zelensky was in his Patriot offer, it came as his country is finding itself less and less able to defend against Russian airstrikes.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com