Zelenskyy seeks Patriot systems from US to counter Russia’s power grid attacks

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a news conference in Kyiv on Monday (AP Photo/Andrea Rosa)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he wants to order 25 Patriot air defence systems from the United States, as Ukraine tries to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks that have brought rolling blackouts across Ukraine on the brink of winter.

Mr Zelenskyy acknowledged that the Patriot systems are expensive and that such a large batch could take years to manufacture. But he said European countries could give their Patriots to Ukraine and await replacements, stressing that “we would not like to wait”.

Combined missile and drone strikes on the power grid have coincided with Ukraine’s frantic efforts to hold back a Russian battlefield push aimed at capturing the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk.

Meanwhile, international peace efforts appear to have dissipated, nearly four years after Russia invaded its neighbour.

A Russian ‘Grad’ self-propelled 122mm multiple rocket launcher fires towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine (Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP)

Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine recently received more Patriot systems from Germany. It is not known how many Patriot systems are in Ukraine. But on the whole air defences remain stretched thin across wide expanses of Ukrainian territory, and the threat to the provision of heating and running water in the bitter winter is acute.

Nato is co-ordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine. European allies and Canada are buying much of the equipment from the United States. The Trump administration is not giving any arms to Ukraine, unlike the previous Biden administration.

Russia’s attacks on energy infrastructure have grown more effective. It launches hundreds of drones, some equipped with cameras to improve targeting, that overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences, especially in regions where protection is weaker.

Also, this year it is striking region by region, hitting local substations, instead of taking aim at the centralised national grid.

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said on Monday that Russian attacks caused more damage to its power infrastructure, resulting in scheduled blackouts in most of the country’s regions.

It urged Ukrainians to ration their use of electricity, especially during peak consumption hours in the mornings and evenings.

Meanwhile, the two sides were locked in a battle for control of Pokrovsk, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region where Mr Zelenskyy says Russia has assembled 170,000 troops for a renewed push.

There has been a relative lull in fighting in recent days, according to reports gathered by the Institute for the Study of War. But the Washington-based think tank said it expected Russian forces to quicken the tempo of their attacks in coming days as they move more troops into the city.