Anti-aircraft defense for Ukraine
“The Americans will refuse”
Aug 5, 2026 – 8:28 p.mReading time: 4 minutes
Not a single Russian missile was able to intercept Ukraine on Wednesday night. There is no improvement in the situation in sight, says military expert Gressel.
The latest attack exposes the vulnerability of the Ukraine ruthlessly open: the defenders were unable to intercept a single one of 28 Russian missiles on Wednesday night. At least 17 people were killed in the attack in and around Kyiv killed, 44 others injured. And it may not have been the last sad day for Ukraine in this war.
President has been appealing for months Volodymyr Zelensky to the allies to supply more anti-aircraft missiles. The lack of ammunition for Ukraine’s Patriot systems is particularly dramatic. The most effective means of combating Russian missiles such as Iskander, Zirkon or Kinschal are the latest generation of PAC-3 Patriot missiles. This was developed specifically to combat missiles, while the previous version, the PAC-2, is better suited to combating fighter jets.
But now Ukraine’s PAC-3 stocks may have finally run out, fears Austrian military expert Gustav Gressel.
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“Lastly a small delivery came from Poland”
“The stockpiles are secret, but Ukraine only has very few of these missiles, if any,” says Gressel when asked by t-online. “It may be that the Ukrainians are still holding some back, but it may also be that they have now completely run out,” said Gressel. Kyiv has not received large quantities of PAC-3 missiles for a long time. “A small delivery came out recently Poland“But they’ve long been gone,” explains the political scientist and officer trainer for the Austrian Armed Forces.
Hope for an improvement in the situation was recently sparked by the US President’s announcement Donald Trump to allow Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles under license. The commitment from Washington came as a surpriseafter all, the Trump administration had turned a blind eye to requests from Kiev for months. But last week Trump qualified his commitment again and, according to the US ambassador to the NATOMatthew Whitaker, Ukraine will not receive the Patriot license before winter. This development comes as no surprise to Gustav Gressel.
Gressel does not believe in Patriot licenses for Ukraine
“I don’t think Ukraine will actually get the license for Patriot missiles; the Americans will refuse,” said the military expert. “When it comes to arms exports, the US bureaucracy is extremely slow, not to mention the president’s political whims.” In any case, the only issue under discussion is permission to produce PAC-2 missiles, whose usefulness against Russia’s ballistic missiles is limited. “Whether the Ukrainians ever get licenses for PAC-2 depends on the number of units ordered and political factors,” said Gressel. Theoretically it is conceivable.
