Zelenskiy Urges Patriot Missile Production After Deadly Russian Barrage

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the United States to allow the domestic production of Patriot air-defense missiles under license following one of the heaviest Russian aerial assaults since 2022. On July 2, 2026, Russian forces launched an 11-hour barrage involving nearly 500 drones and 77 missiles, including ballistic and hypersonic weapons. The attacks killed at least 30 people and injured more than 100 others across Kyiv, Sumy, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Kryvyi Rih, destroying residential buildings, schools, and a regional hospital.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov appealed to nearly 40 partner countries to transfer Patriot missiles from existing stockpiles to address critical interceptor shortages. Ukraine offered to replace these munitions using future contracted deliveries. These requests precede a NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8, where allies are expected to approve a €40 billion support fund, with Germany pledging approximately €12 billion.

Simultaneously, Ukrainian strikes on over 50 Russian oil refineries since March have cut one-third of Russia's refining capacity. While President Vladimir Putin dismissed these fuel shortages as not critical, he rejected ceasefire proposals, conditioning any truce on Ukraine's withdrawal from parts of the Donetsk region and the abandonment of its NATO bid. Putin also claimed the capture of Kostyantynivka, though Ukrainian officials report repelling assaults in that area.