WASHINGTON -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued an unusually direct appeal to President Donald Trump and the US Congress, warning that Ukraine urgently needs additional Patriot missile systems as Russia intensifies ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
In a five-page letter delivered to the White House and Capitol Hill, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s ability to protect civilians now depends heavily on US-made Patriot systems, describing ballistic missiles as one of Moscow’s remaining key battlefield advantages.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Olha Stefanishyna, told RFE/RL in an interview on May 27 that Kyiv’s message in the letter was that shifting diplomatic rhetoric has not altered conditions on the ground.
“There might be different diplomatic rhetoric, there might be different diplomatic dynamics, there might be different priorities, but the reality is not changing,” she said.
“The reality is not changing on the ground. People are dying.”
Zelenskyy wrote in the letter, a text of which was obtained by RFE/RL, that with "the fate of many lives" being decided in the war, Patriot systems remain the "most-effective defense against every type of Russian ballistic missile.”
The appeal comes as the Trump administration continues to avoid large-scale direct military aid packages for Kyiv, instead relying on the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism under which NATO allies purchase US weapons systems for Ukraine.
But Zelenskyy warned that deliveries under the program are not keeping pace with battlefield needs.
“The current pace of deliveries through the PURL program is no longer keeping up with the reality of the threat we face,” he wrote.
The Ukrainian president also pointed to rising global demand for Patriot interceptors amid broader international security pressures and competing requirements for US stockpiles.
“For us -- for a nation fighting for its survival -- there is hardly anything more painful to see than Patriot batteries with no missiles loaded,” Zelenskyy wrote.
In a social media post on May 27, Zelenskyy said that while it may be highly unusual for a foreign leader to simultaneously address both the US president and Congress, the situation required "swift and effective action.”
“It is important that America hear Ukraine,” he added, noting Russia’s war against Ukraine -- now in its fifth year -- remains an existential struggle.
“The sooner we are able to provide greater protection against ballistic threats, the sooner we will be able to make diplomacy work,” Zelenskyy wrote.
“As long as Russia continues to rely on missiles, its interest in diplomacy is not real.”
The appeal quickly drew reaction on Capitol Hill.
Senior Republican lawmaker Joe Wilson told RFE/RL that Ukraine remains a key partner in confronting shared adversaries.
“Ukrainians courageously defend their homeland while innovating and standing with America against the terrorist regime in Tehran,” Wilson said.
“War Criminal Putin murders churchgoers and children playing while openly supplying the terrorists in Tehran to murder Americans. He is losing and desperate. Air defense saves lives, and Ukraine is a proven partner against terrorism.”
RFE/RL contacted the White House for comment but did not receive an immediate response. Several congressional offices said their lawmakers had not yet reviewed the letter.
Stefanishyna said Russia, “in its desperation” and under “enormous pressure from all sides,” was escalating attacks, including missile strikes, cyberwarfare, disinformation campaigns, and intimidation efforts targeting Ukraine and its partners.
The ambassador said Ukraine’s ability to counter ballistic missiles remains overwhelmingly dependent on the United States.
“The only thing which is only at the disposal of the US government is the ability to intercept ballistic missiles,” she said. “And this is a defense capability we need, and the only one we are really desperate to agree on with the United States.”
She added that Ukraine is prepared to finance additional systems and interceptors.
“We will be able to pay for it for sure,” she said.
A central argument in Zelenskyy’s letter is that stronger air defenses could help shift Moscow’s calculations and open space for diplomacy.
“Ballistic missiles are [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s last major advantage,” he wrote, warning that Russia would continue using missile strikes “to avoid diplomacy” unless Ukraine can counter the threat.
Stefanishyna said Moscow is attempting to exploit divisions among Western allies.
“We have seen a lot of radical rhetoric which just puts a lot of gray color in between something which is really black and white, good and bad,” she said. “They think that they can use this by undermining the unity.”
She also warned that Russian attacks could intensify further.
“We understand that the darkest time for Russia is only coming,” she said. “They will be more desperate to kill more Ukrainians.”
William B. Taylor Jr., who served as Washington’s top diplomat in Kyiv under both President George W. Bush and during the Trump administration, said Ukraine’s need for Patriot systems has become increasingly urgent.
“The need for anti-ballistic missile weapons like Patriots is severe,” he told RFE/RL on May 27.
“The Ukrainians can knock down [Russian] drones pretty effectively,” he said, citing Ukraine’s expanding domestic air-defense capabilities. “But it’s the ballistic missiles that’s the problem.”
Taylor said global shortages of Patriot interceptors are complicating Ukraine’s position. “Patriots are in short supply all over the world,” he said.
He argued that international pressure on Russia should increase over its strikes on civilians.
“Every civilized nation should demand that the Russians cease the attacks on civilians in Ukraine,” Taylor said.
He also said support for Ukraine’s own air-defense development should remain a priority for Western governments.
The letter marks one of Kyiv’s most direct appeals yet to US leadership since the war began, underscoring growing concern in Ukraine that delays in air-defense deliveries could leave cities increasingly exposed to Russian ballistic missile strikes.
