by Lachlan Hyatt
August 13, 2026
The Kyiv Independent
President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Aug. 12 that Ukraine could destroy all Russian ballistic missiles if the United States were to sell Kyiv 10% of its Patriot interceptor missile stockpile. “This year I’m asking American partners to sell me 5% of missiles, what they have in their stocks,” said Zelensky in an interview with CNN. “If they sell us 5% we will go through the winter and save people’s lives. If they can sell us 10%, we will destroy all the Russians’ ballistic missiles,” the president added.
The appeal for more interceptor missiles from Zelensky comes amid a severe shortage of air defense supplies for Ukraine. In July, Ukraine intercepted only 29 of the 195 ballistic missiles Russia launched at the country, making it the deadliest month for civilians since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, according to the UN. “I have 1%,” said Zelensky, referring to current Ukrainian acquisition of U.S. interceptor missiles.
Ukraine has asked the White House to increase the sales of air defense missiles as Russian strikes pummel civilian and energy infrastructure, leading to confrontation, walk-backs, and pleading with the Trump administration.
The U.S. itself has a reported shortage of missiles as the Iran war has depleted stockpiles. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Aug. 6 that the United States “needs missiles too.”
While Kyiv has been working to cut a deal with Washington allowing for the co-production of Patriot interceptor missiles, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said that would be unlikely to come to fruition before the winter. At the same time, Russian ballistic missiles stockpiles remain high, Zelensky said. “Russia has two times more ballistic missiles per month than they had before,” Zelensky said, referring to Russian missile supplies in 2025.
Ukrainian intelligence reports claim that Russia’s monthly production of key missiles is running 10–20% above target, while the output of some models is even higher.
Given the challenges of obtaining more missiles, Ukraine is currently working to produce its own ballistic and anti-ballistic missile system, with the weapons set to be combat-ready as soon as this fall. Speaking with CNN, Zelensky opened up about his daily deal-making negotiations with allies to secure more missiles. “With everybody, I try to exchange something (for) missiles,” said Zelensky.
Lachlan Hyatt is an eager, tenacious journalist passionate about reporting on conflict, humanitarian crises, and injustice. He writes: I have a special interest in eastern European affairs where I have reported and filmed a documentary in Ukraine in 2023. Combining my love for storytelling and ambition to make positive impacts, I found my calling in investigative and video journalism. Growing up in the forests of Colorado, stories and storytelling played an important role in my upbringing. Playing in the mountains with my brother, stories channeled our curiosity and served as a way to make sense of the world around us.
Going to NYU where I made my own major at the Gallatin School of Individualized Studies, I was able to combine my love of stories with my desire to make a difference through journalism. My course of study (How the Internet can be Used as a Storytelling Technology to Affect Social Change) focused around print journalism, multimedia journalism, political theory, internet studies, and social activism. At NYU, I spent a semester abroad in Prague where I took classes about foreign reporting and snagged a foreign correspondence internship at Transitions Online.
After graduating Magna Cum Laude and winning the Founders Day Award for Academic achievement, I began freelancing in New York and working at the United Nations as their sole intern for English-language accounts. There, I wrote, designed, and posted content on the United Nations’ main social media accounts. While freelancing, I covered labor and immigration in NYC.
After working with the United Nations, I worked as a reporting intern for the Gotham Gazette where I covered city politics, and The Independent where I covered social justice issues. I had dozens of articles published, worked closely with editors and other reporters, took photos, and covered intense demonstrations and protests. Following that, I received a Fulbright grant to go to Estonia and report on cybersecurity, NATO, and politics in eastern Europe.
After Estonia, I travelled to Ukraine where I spent the spring of 2023 filming humanitarian volunteers helping those affected by the terrible war. I gained valuable conflict reporting skills, TCCC training, and grew my video reporting skills. While facing many obstacles and dangers, everything went well and I am back in New York City editing the footage into a short documentary which I plan to submit to festivals. In the fall of 2023, I enrolled in Columbia University’s School of Journalism where I was admitted into the selective Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalists.