Ukraine seeks more US Patriot interceptors as bomb shelter probe deepens

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his appeal for U.S.-made Patriot missile interceptors after an overnight Russian missile and drone barrage on Kyiv killed at least 10 people and injured dozens more, Ukrainian officials said Aug. 1. The world has Patriot missiles. What matters now is for our partners to make the political decision to provide the necessary packages. The United States knows what we need. Europe knows what we need, Zelenskyy said in a video message shared on X. Anti-ballistic missiles must protect people - not sit in stockpiles, he added. Zelenskyy's appeal came as a former Ukrainian government official told Fox News Digital that Ukraine's civilian protection crisis extends far beyond air defenses, describing scandalous situations amid a widening bomb shelter probe that has allegedly exposed deficiencies despite billions spent on construction and repairs. Zelenskyy is shifting responsibility onto the United States and Western partners for the lack of protection inside Ukraine, said former Ukrainian government spokesperson Iuliia Mendel. Ukraine's civilian population is largely unprotected, not solely because of shortages of missiles, but because of the absence of any comprehensive system that would give people reliable places to shelter and the means to survive. It's not possible to keep begging for missiles all the time. This is not how one protects the population, Mendel said. Scandalous situations keep arising, she said, where people have no chance to take cover. Zelenskyy told Axios on July 29 that he had asked Trump for an emergency shipment of about 300 Patriot interceptors ahead of winter, saying Ukraine needed the Patriots yesterday.