JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked the United States to provide more ammunition for the Patriot air defense system to counter Russian ballistic missiles, according to a document reviewed by AFP.
The request underscores Ukraine's near-total reliance on its Western allies to knock out Russian missile strikes, even as it has pioneered a system to intercept long-range drones that are the target of some of the world's most advanced militaries.
The request comes just days after one of the worst joint missile and drone attacks launched against Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine more than four years ago, which caused devastation across the capital.
In a letter dated May 26 addressed to President Donald Trump, President Zelensky asked Washington to "help us secure this vital protection against Russian terror - the PAC-3 Patriot missile and additional systems - to stop Russian ballistic missiles and other Russian missile attacks," Al Arabiya reported from AFP (28/5).
President Zelensky admitted in the five-page document, also addressed to Congress, that: "in terms of defense against ballistic missiles, we are almost entirely dependent on the United States."
"And it is in the hands of Ukraine that the Patriot system has proven something very important: Most Russian missiles can be stopped," the Ukrainian leader added.
President Zelensky's request comes at a tumultuous time in relations between Ukraine and the United States.
President Trump, who returned to the White House last year, promised to quickly end the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has now entered its fifth year.
However, US-led efforts to bring Kyiv and Moscow back to the negotiating table have been hampered by the US and Israeli war with Iran, as well as the failure to make progress on key points that are obstacles to a peace deal, particularly who will control most of eastern Ukraine.
Both sides have stepped up their drone and long-range missile attacks since a series of bilateral talks mediated by the United States earlier this year appeared to have reached an impasse.
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