Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued his starkest warning yet about the consequences of the Middle East war for Ukraine, telling the BBC that his country faces a certain Patriot missile deficit as Western stockpiles are consumed at a pace that outstrips production by a factor the numbers make impossible to ignore.
Zelensky said the United States produces between 60 and 65 Patriot interceptor missiles per month, amounting to roughly 700 to 800 missiles annually. On the first day of the current Middle East war, 803 missiles were fired. That single statistic, he said, illustrated why Ukraine’s air defence position was now under threat.
“There will definitely be a deficit of Patriot missiles. This will be a challenge,” he said, adding that Kyiv has received approximately 600 Patriot interceptors across the entire four years of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Speaking in London following meetings with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Zelensky said he had a “very bad feeling” about the war’s impact on Ukraine’s situation. He said peace negotiations are being constantly postponed and identified the Iran conflict as the sole reason, adding that America’s focus had shifted away from Ukraine at a critical moment.
Zelensky framed the situation as a strategic gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He told the BBC that Putin wants a long war in the Middle East because it depletes United States reserves, strains air defence manufacturers and drives up energy prices, all of which weaken Ukraine’s position and reduce pressure on Moscow.
Zelensky also opposed moves by the Trump administration to ease sanctions on Russian oil exports, warning that lifting restrictions would allow Moscow to plug a ballooning fiscal deficit. He estimated that Russia earned roughly $10 billion from oil revenues in the first two weeks of the Middle East conflict alone.
On the question of peace talks, a meeting tentatively scheduled for March 18 to 19 has been thrown into uncertainty after the United States said it would only host negotiations on American soil due to the Middle East crisis, while Russia has rejected that option. Ukraine’s negotiating team continues daily contact with American counterparts, who in turn speak daily with Russian representatives.
Zelensky used his London visit to address British Members of Parliament, calling on Western leaders to maintain unity. He said Trump and Starmer should meet directly to find common ground, describing the pair’s frayed relationship as a problem that benefits adversaries. Trump had branded Starmer “no Winston Churchill” just hours earlier, the latest in a series of public rebukes that have strained the transatlantic relationship.
Addressing lawmakers at Westminster, Zelensky linked Russia and Iran directly, saying the two regimes are brothers in hatred and brothers in weapons, and warned that any regime built on hatred must never be allowed to win. The Ukrainian leader travels to Madrid on Wednesday, continuing a European tour aimed at keeping allied attention fixed on Ukraine as the Middle East dominates global headlines.
