Zelensky pleas for US support in letter to Trump for Patriot systems
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the United States to expand military assistance to Kyiv, specifically requesting additional Patriot missile systems to counter Russia’s ballistic missile threat. In a letter to President Donald Trump, Zelensky argued that Europe must do more for its own security but said Ukraine needs U.S. help-particularly for air defense-to continue making progress against Russian conventional advantages.
The article notes that while the U.S. has supplied Ukraine with large amounts of weapons over the past four years, approval of further Patriot shipments has been hesitant. Trump has said he wants to end the war and has criticized Ukraine’s leadership for starting a conflict they couldn’t decisively win, while the Pentagon has not clearly ruled out future Patriot deliveries.
Zelensky also tied the request to diplomacy concerns, warning that Russia will avoid conventional negotiations while it retains advantages like ballistic missiles. The piece adds that European support is weakening: a Czech-led ammunition initiative that previously had up to 18 contributing countries now has only about nine financially participating members, limiting ammo supply.
it describes ongoing friction around peace talks, including disputes over whether the U.S. pressured Ukraine to except Russian demands-especially withdrawal from the Donbas-and mentions renewed fighting despite a U.S.-announced ceasefire effort in early May, with warnings that major strikes against Kyiv might potentially be coming.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the United States this week to expand military support to Kyiv, a move he hopes will tip the scales in his country’s war against Russia.
Washington has provided Ukraine with hundreds of billions worth of weapons throughout the four-year conflict, but has hesitated in recent months to approve new shipments of U.S. Patriot missile systems to Kyiv, despite Zelensky repeatedly lobbying for more arms support.
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In a letter to President Donald Trump written Monday, Zelensky pleaded for Patriot systems, reiterating his offer to buy the missiles and provide advanced drone technology to the U.S. as well, in exchange for military aid. Ukraine’s request comes after Trump has long expressed frustration over the protracted war, blaming both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting it, and pushing Europe to do more to rise to Kyiv’s defense.
“We understand that the United States keeps bearing responsibility for its own defense and for the protection of its allies and partners,” Zelensky wrote in a letter seeking to address Trump’s concerns. “And we agree that Europe must take on a greater role in guaranteeing its security. However, after all we have been through together, have we not earned a place among your allies?”
“The one challenge that remains extremely difficult for us — and the one that Europe cannot solve alone at this stage — is Russian ballistic missile threat,” he continued in the letter, which was reported by CBS News. “They can be intercepted. With Patriots. With your help. And you have the power to help.”
Trump appeared to dash hopes that Ukraine could receive more Patriot systems last April, though the Pentagon has not definitively ruled out future deliveries of the weapon system.
“I don’t know — he’s always looking to purchase missiles, you know,” Trump said of Zelensky, referring to his offer to buy 10 Patriot missile batteries for $15 billion. “Listen, when you start a war, you’ve 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.”
At the time, Trump emphasized his goal remains to end the war, saying he wants to “stop the killing,” after months of U.S.-brokered peace talks between the two countries.
Zelensky said this week that Ukraine does “not want an endless war.” But he framed the Patriot systems as the only real way to end the war.
“As Putin still has even one meaningful advantage in conventional weapons, he will avoid conventional diplomacy,” Zelensky warned. “Today, his ballistic missiles remain exactly that — his last major advantage on the battlefield.”
Meanwhile, European support for Ukraine appears to be faltering. Only nine countries are now funding a Czech-led initiative to supply Ukraine with ammunition, down from as many as 18 last year, Czech President Petr Pavel told the Financial Times on Tuesday.
“The initiative is still working, but the new difficulty is that only about nine member states are contributing financially,” Pavel said. “This initiative has been delivering up to 50% of all large caliber ammunition to the Ukrainians, so in this sense it cannot be replaced easily by anything else.”
Trump’s reluctance to further help Kyiv comes as it stands firm against the key Russian demand in peace negotiations, with Zelensky remaining adamant that he will not comply with Putin’s request that Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region. Washington and Kyiv’s relationship appeared to hit a snag in March, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio vehemently denounced Zelensky’s claims that the U.S. was pressuring Ukraine to accept such a deal.
“That’s a lie,” Rubio said. “And I saw him say that. And it’s unfortunate he would say that because he knows that’s not true and that’s not what he was told.”
The U.S. announced a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on May 8, but fighting has since picked up, with Moscow warning Rubio on Monday that it is preparing to carry out major strikes against Kyiv.
“This is what happens with these wars,” Rubio said. “I mean, they just continue to escalate. There’s a big strike coming one way, the bigger strike coming back, and that’s how these things unravel and keep going. And it’s why the war needs to come to an end. Kyiv’s been a very dangerous place now for a number of years. Look, the danger in all of these wars as they continue and then they go on is that they always have the threat of escalation, of spreading into something new.”
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