Beyond Patriot: Why Ukraine is pushing Europe to build its own missile shield

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Another night, another barrage. As Russia launched fresh waves of ballistic missiles and drones at Kyiv, Ukraine's air defences were once again put to the test.Zelenskyy, speaking in ​his nightly video address, said Ukraine needed its allies to ensure weapons supplies were provided more promptly."I am preparing changes in Ukraine's diplomatic efforts. We need a new level of ​cooperation with our partners to ensure that agreements on arms supplies are fulfilled," Zelenskyy said.Ukraine is critically low on munitions for its Patriot air defence systems and has ​been largely unable to down ballistic missiles, which travel at several times the speed of sound, over the past month.While many drones and cruise missiles can be intercepted by a range of air-defence systems, ballistic missiles remain the most dangerous threat, requiring highly advanced and increasingly scarce interceptor missiles.For Zelenskyy, these repeated attacks have reinforced a message he has been delivering to European leaders in recent weeks.Speaking at the Nato defence industries forum, Zelenskyy said, "Europe needs affordable, mass-produced anti-ballistic systems as soon as possible. In fact, today". He also urged European nations to rapidly expand their own production of anti-ballistic systems and the missiles that power them, arguing that the continent cannot afford to wait years for such capabilities.

For decades, Europe's ballistic missile defence has relied heavily on the United States. The US-made Patriot remains Nato's primary system for intercepting ballistic missiles and has become the backbone of Ukraine's air defence against Russian ballistic missiles.However, the war has exposed the limits of this dependence. Patriot interceptors are expensive, production is slow, and European countries have limited stockpiles, making it difficult to sustain long-term support for Ukraine.While Europe has developed systems such as IRIS-T SLM and SAMP/T, they are primarily designed to counter aircraft, drones and cruise missiles. For high-end ballistic missile defence, Europe still depends largely on American Patriot systems.The war in Ukraine has shown that modern conflicts can rapidly deplete interceptor stockpiles, while production struggles to keep pace with demand. Building an indigenous anti-ballistic missile capability would allow Europe to expand production, strengthen its defence industrial base, and ensure a more reliable supply of interceptors during future crises.