Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his embattled nation had been slammed by more than 1,000 Russian projectiles over the past week, prompting him to renew his urgent plea for additional air defense weapons, particularly the U.S.-made Patriot missile system.
“In one week, the Russian army used about 550 attack drones, almost 60 missiles of various types, and more than 660 aerial bombs,” Zelenskiy wrote on his Telegram channel.
He thanked soldiers and warfare units for defending against the “daily strikes on infrastructure” and for preventing most of the weapons from “reaching their targets.”
However, he added that the “constant task is to continue to strengthen the protection of our skies.”
“More Patriots for Ukraine means more protection of life. More range for Ukraine means more guarantees that the Russian war can be stopped,” he added.
Zelenskiy has stepped up his appeals for the sophisticated Patriot air defense system over the past year as Russian forces continue assaults against Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian sites.
Ukraine is thought to have at least five Patriot systems, although details have been kept mostly secret as some allies have sent full batteries while others have promised to send parts for the units.
A Patriot system costs more than $1 billion to manufacture and some $4 million more each time it is fired.
In an interview with Ukrainian TV on January 19, military chief Oleksandr Syrskiy said Ukraine is seeking to develop its own air defense system with capabilities equivalent to the Patriots.
“During Soviet times, [Ukraine] effectively manufactured all the controllers for anti-aircraft systems. So we have the capacity and the ability to make [them]. Work is under way to develop our own domestic air defense system."
When asked if they will be as effective as the U.S.-made systems, Syrskiy said, "I hope they will be comparable in performance to the Patriots."
On the battlefield, the Ukrainian General Staff reported more than 80 clashes near the strategic Donetsk city of Pokrovsk, the target of a brutal Russian offensive over recent months.
A day earlier, Ukrainian military spokesman Viktor Trehubov claimed the situation in Pokrovsk was "stable" and that there were no Russian troops inside the city, even as authorities rushed to evacuate children from the bombed-out ruins.
"In Pokrovsk, in the city itself, the situation has not changed. It is stable,” Trehubov said, while acknowledging that Russian forces still appeared intent on encircling the area.
“There is no enemy there. We have already had to counteract information thrown into the network that they have allegedly arrived. This is simply not true," he insisted.
Once home to 60,000 residents, Pokrovsk now has only around 7,000 people remaining, local authorities estimate.
The situation around the important logistics hub remains unclear. Heavy losses have been reported on both sides, although neither military discloses its casualties.
Russian forces have been closing in on Pokrovsk for several weeks, but some observers suggest the Kremlin may decide to bypass the city and seek to capture more territory further inside Ukraine instead.
On January 18, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had taken control of two more settlements in the region, the village of Petropavlivka -- between the towns of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove -- and Vremivka.
If Russian forces were to take Pokrovsk, it would represent a major gain for the Kremlin after fighting that has left the city mostly in ruins.
In his comments, Trehubov said that "the enemy is trying to cling to the area south of Pokrovsk in order to advance southwest of the settlement and cut off logistics routes."
"What is happening in the settlements south of Pokrovsk…there are constant battles, constant attempts by the enemy to take the area, make a base with it, and advance.”
“The Russians are currently far from this goal, but they are trying," he added.
The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in its latest update said that “Russian forces recently advanced in the Pokrovsk direction and continued offensive operations in the area on January 17.
