Ukraine expands cooperation with partners on air defense missiles - Zelenskyy

He discussed this during a press conference.

"Regarding the SAMP/T missiles, there has never been enough of them. This is an issue with these systems. We are grateful to Italy, we are grateful to France. It really depended on these two countries. We thank them for providing what they have in their arsenal. These are complex systems, they are good. It can't be said that they are the same as the Patriot, they are great, they hit targets, but not everything the Patriot can intercept," he said.

The president mentioned that there is a constant shortage of missiles for these systems, and Ukraine is still looking for licenses to produce them.

"There is one problem with these systems: a huge shortage of missiles. And it has always been there. I don’t want to say how many missiles we have, or what’s happening with them. It’s a constant problem, but I don’t want Italy or France to be offended, because they gave us these systems, and they provided missiles," the president emphasized. "I will say what the war has taught us. One of the lessons: where you can get a license from a partner, take it, we will produce it faster. I didn’t get those licenses, although I really wanted to. It was very important to me. Patriot, SAMP/T, Hawk. At least Hawk. Many countries even gave us systems because they weren’t in service anymore. They’re not new, but they work. We took them because we understood where we could find missiles," Zelenskyy added.

At the same time, according to the president, there are certain difficulties in finding missiles for the SAMP/T air defense systems, and they may be replaced by Patriot systems.

He added that Ukraine, for example, can negotiate with Germany regarding missiles for the IRIS-T systems, as Germany independently supplies these missiles without requiring approval from other countries.

"Then, we can make agreements and rely on a consistent monthly supply of IRIS-T missiles. This way, our military can clearly calculate how many IRIS-T missiles they have," emphasized Zelenskyy.

On the other hand, it is more complicated to negotiate missiles for air defense systems, whose supply depends on two or more manufacturers.

"There are systems that depend on four countries and their political will to grant us a license. We are gradually developing this direction," concluded the president.

• On January 9, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Ukraine would receive six IRIS-T systems from Germany in 2025.