To protect its skies from ballistic missiles, Kyiv has asked its Western partners for at least 10 units of Patriot surface-to-air defence systems which can detect and intercept oncoming missiles.
Asked whether the Patriot systems Trump promised over the summer were forthcoming, Havryliuk declined to be drawn into specifics but said there was “some movement in this direction”.
The more drones and missiles are fired by Russia, the harder it is for Ukraine to intercept them.
Earlier this month Moscow fired a record number of more than 800 drones and missiles – the highest since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Inevitably, during such large-scale attacks the interception rate drops.
Out of the hundreds of drones used in Sunday’s attack, 31 managed to hit their targets. According to President Zelensky, the majority were residential buildings and civilian facilities such as a cardiology centre in Kyiv.
As well as being more frequent and intense, aerial attacks are also becoming more dangerous as Moscow is using new and more advanced drones to break through Ukraine’s air defence systems, Havryliuk said.
When Iranian-made Shahed drones were used for the first time in 2023, “they were easy to jam using our electronic warfare systems”, he explained.
“Today, they use 16-channel antennas in order to pass through our jamming zones.”
Havryliuk also believes they would be a way for Ukraine to stop Russian drones before they reach EU countries.
“Strengthening our air defence system is an investment into security of the entire Europe,” he said, referring to the recent incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace.
He added that it would disrupt “Putin’s plans to constantly scare Europe”.