In the wake of the latest deadly Russian air strikes on Kyiv and other cities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed frustration with his Western allies, urging speedier delivery of urgently needed Patriot air defense missiles and other weapons.
"We need answers to this Russian terror, real answers from the world," Zelensky said in his nightly video address after Moscow fired what he said were 35 cruise and ballistic missiles and nearly 190 drones at Ukrainian cities.
“Everyone in the world must see that, by prolonging the war, Russia is learning new ways to kill -- and it certainly won’t stop with Ukrainians,” he said late on August 1.
"The world has Patriot missiles. What matters now is for our partners to make the political decision -- the decision to provide the necessary supplies," Zelensky said.
“The United States knows what we need. Europe knows what we need.”
"Missiles to defend against ballistic missiles should protect people and not sit in stockpiles," he added.
Zelenskyy’s comments come after Russia targeted the Ukrainian capital with ballistic missiles early in the day amid apparent renewed reluctance by US President Donald Trump to provide Kyiv with licenses to produce Patriot missiles for itself.
Emergency services in Kyiv said at least nine people were killed and dozens of others injured, including at least four children, in the Russian missile strike.
Zelenskyy said only one of 27 ballistic missiles was intercepted, mainly because there were no missiles for Patriot systems already in Ukraine’s possession.
Local authorities reported damage to residential buildings, a school, and the Lithuanian Embassy after more than a dozen explosions were heard across the city in the early morning hours.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities in the southern city of Kherson said at least one person -- a 54-year-old woman -- was killed and 18 others injured in a Russian air strike.
Regional military administration chief Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram on August 1 that the air strike was accompanied by artillery fire and that several buildings and vehicles were damaged in the frontline city.
Having made little to no territorial gains along Ukraine's more than 1,200-kilometer front line this year, Moscow has stepped up its missile attacks on Ukraine as country faces severe shortages of air defense systems capable of intercepting high-speed ballistic missiles.
Trump Steps Back From Offer
On July 9, the Ukrainian president said Kyiv and Washington had reached agreement on licenses for production of PAC-3 Patriot interceptors, adding that parts for the missiles were expected to arrive in the next few days.
However, Trump on July 31 downplayed earlier suggestions that Washington was ready to grant Kyiv a license to produce Patriot missiles itself.
"These weapons are incredible. We have to be very careful about letting somebody build them," Trump told reporters at a Cabinet meeting at Camp David, adding that his administration has "not agreed" to that yet.
"We're talking about it. But it's a hard thing to give away that kind of technology," he said.
Trump’s apparent walk back on the licenses troubled US Democrats and even some of the president’s Republican Party members.
Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska offered one of the strongest Republican criticisms of the move.
Speaking to RFE/RL on July 31, Bacon, a senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, accused the White House of sending contradictory signals at a time when Ukraine faces an escalating Russian missile campaign and an acute shortage of Patriot interceptors.
"While 70 percent of Americans support Ukraine, the policies of the White House make them appear to be in the 30 percent. Enabling the Ukrainians to build the Patriot would have helped relieve the shortage of interceptors we face today," Bacon said.
"I wish the president was more of a Reagan or Churchill when it comes to Russia," he added.
