KYIV/WASHINGTON ¨C With the United States focused on its conflict with Iran, Ukraine could face a critical shortage of U.S. air defense missiles at a time when Russia shows no signs of easing its campaign of striking Ukrainian cities.
Since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on Saturday, Iran has fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Persian Gulf countries. Most have been intercepted, including with the PAC-3 Patriot missile interceptors that Ukraine relies on to defend its energy and military infrastructure from ballistic missiles.
The roughly 600 PAC-3s produced yearly by Lockheed Martin are already insufficient to cover U.S. needs and those of its allies in the Gulf, let alone Ukraine¡¯s, said Serhii Kuzan, head of the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center think tank.
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