Ukraine needs 10 Patriot systems: Zelensky addresses Ramstein participants from Kryvyi Rih

The full text of the address was published on the official website of the President of Ukraine, as reported by Ukrinform.

“Today, I’m speaking to you from Kryvyi Rih. This city lives under almost constant air alerts – because of drones or Russian missiles. The most dangerous threat is ballistic missiles. When there’s a ballistic threat, people have just a few minutes to reach shelter. Just imagine what that’s like – sending your child outside, or just walking through the city, knowing that a missile can hit within 5 minutes of launch. It’s constant danger,” Zelensky said.

He reminded the world that exactly one week ago, a Russian ballistic missile strike killed 19 people — including nine children — on an ordinary city street in Kryvyi Rih.

Zelensky stressed that many other peaceful cities across Ukraine — Dnipro, Nikopol, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Odesa, Chernihiv, and more — are also under constant attack. The President called for urgent support in the form of at least 10 Patriot missile defense systems.

“You know that Ukraine has a shortage of air defense systems. You know that Patriot systems can effectively protect against ballistic threats. You also know that we are forced to move the systems we have around the country to give at least temporary protection to different cities. And you know what happens when even one system goes out of service – it means lost lives,” Zelensky warned.

He emphasized that Russia sees this vulnerability as an advantage in its campaign of terror and called for decisive political action.

“Ten Patriot systems – the free world has them. What is needed now are political decisions to make them work for peace. We need that result,” he said.

Zelensky also revealed a troubling development: Ukrainian forces recently captured Chinese citizens fighting on the front lines for Russia.

“Last week, our soldiers captured the first Chinese citizens fighting on the front – fighting for Russia. As of now, we have information that at least several hundred Chinese nationals are fighting as part of Russia’s occupation forces. This means Russia is clearly trying to prolong the war – even by using Chinese lives,” he said.

The President called on allies to develop a long-term security strategy and increase pressure on Moscow so that such situations no longer depend solely on the Kremlin’s decisions.

Zelensky also thanked everyone working with Ukraine on a new format of security guarantees — the Coalition of the Willing.

“We need to define clear details regarding the size, structure, deployment, logistics, sustainment, and the equipment and weapons of this security contingent in Ukraine, as well as the long-term support for a strong Ukrainian army,” he noted.

As reported by Ukrinform, the 27th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group took place today in Brussels, with participation from 51 nations.