Ukraine is ready to purchase 10 U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems for $15 billion to shield densely populated cities from ongoing Russian missile and drone attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CBS News released on April 13.
Zelensky said he had made the offer directly to U.S. President Donald Trump and previously raised it with former President Joe Biden's administration.
"I told President Trump very clearly what we can do," Zelensky said.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly urged Western allies to increase air defense support, warning that current supplies are not enough to counter the intensity of Russian attacks.
"There is the Patriot system, and you have many of them. You also have production capacity. There are a few steps to protect Ukraine. Step number one: one system costs $1.5 billion — we are ready to buy it."
Zelensky said Ukraine is ready to purchase 10 Patriot systems.
"That’s $15 billion. We are ready to pay it. We will find the money and pay for everything," he added.
While Kyiv and Moscow agreed to a U.S.-brokered partial ceasefire on March 11, Russian attacks against Ukrainian cities did not abate in the month that followed.
Russia launched 70 missiles, 2,200 Shahed-type drones, and 6,000 guided aerial bombs over the past 30 days, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on April 11. A Russian attack on Sumy on April 13 killed at least 34 people and injured 119. Another Russian strike on Kryvyi Rih on April 4 killed 20 people, including nine children, and injured over 70.
Ukraine has already agreed to accept a complete ceasefire on all hostilities as soon as Russia abides by the same terms. Russia continues to refuse.
In addition to the purchase proposal, the Ukrainian president has also appealed to both the Trump and Biden administrations to grant Kyiv licenses to produce the Patriot systems and their missiles domestically.
"We know how difficult it is to order systems, to order missiles, to negotiate their purchase or to receive assistance," Zelensky said. "We wanted to pay for it, get the licenses, and then understand how long it would take us to build a complete system for closing our skies."
Volodymyr Ivanyshyn
(Updated: )
