Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Europeans of leaving Ukraine’s air defences empty as Russian ballistic missiles crippled the country’s energy infrastructure and pushed it “to the brink of a blackout”.
Mr Zelenskiy’s remarks came a day after Donald Trump said that Russia’s Vladimir Putin had agreed to cease firing on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure “for a week during this … extraordinary cold”.
Overnight into Friday morning, the air-raid sirens in Kyiv were silent and Russia appeared to hold up the deal. Ukraine’s air force reported no missile or drone strikes in much of the country, including the capital.
But 111 drones and one missile had been launched in areas around the eastern frontline regions. It was not immediately clear whether any critical infrastructure had been targeted.
The Ukrainian president told reporters in Kyiv that Pac-3 interceptor missiles for his country’s Patriot air defence systems that had been promised by European partners arrived a day late because of a missed payment, leading to many Ukrainians being left without power, heating and water in what has been the coldest winter of the war.
“The tranche under the PURL [Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List] initiative was not paid. The missiles did not arrive,” he said, without naming the country allegedly responsible.
Mr Zelenskiy appeared to refer to Russia’s January 20th attack in which 34 ballistic and cruise missiles were launched at Ukraine, according to the country’s air force. Pac-3 interceptor munitions are the only ones in Kyiv’s arsenal that are capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.
Mr Zelenskiy warned on January 16th that the country’s air defence munition stocks were running perilously low, saying that until that morning, several systems had been without missiles.
Residents gather around a fire at a mobile kitchen in Kyiv which provides food and warmth to those left without power or heat following Russian strikes on the city’s critical infrastructure. Photograph: EPA
Contributors to PURL include Germany, Norway, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.
Two western officials briefed on the operations of the PURL initiative said Mr Zelenskiy’s allegation was not correct, but declined to provide details.
Nato did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The initiative was launched by the United States and Nato last year to purchase US air defence systems and other weaponry crucial for Ukraine to defend itself against Russian attacks, using funds pooled from European states.
Mr Zelenskiy said his fiery speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this month, where he railed against European allies, was him expressing his frustration over the missed payment. Russia succeeded in disrupting Kyiv’s power and water supply because “our air defence units against ballistic strikes are empty – simply empty”, he said.
“Imagine this: I know that ballistic missiles are incoming against our energy infrastructure, I know that Patriot systems are deployed, and I know that there will be no electricity, because there are no missiles to intercept them,” he said, describing the situation earlier this month.
Russian ballistic missiles have crippled Ukraine’s energy infrastructure often leaving Kyiv without power
He added: “That is the situation I am in. And I am negotiating for Pac-3 missiles that arrive a day after we are brought to the brink of a blackout.”
Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of “energy terror” by targeting its power plants and gas facilities in the middle of the harshest winter of the war. They said Moscow was trying to pound Kyiv into submission as the Trump administration pushed the warring sides into peace talks in an effort to end Russia’s full-scale war, which will enter a fifth year next month.
Zelenskiy said the interceptors “should have arrived a month earlier” when Kyiv received satellite intelligence from its western partners showing “that ballistic missiles are incoming”.
“I know the ballistic missiles have been launched, and partners know that my air defence units are empty. Empty NASAMS, an empty Patriot,” he said, recalling the moment he realised early this month that Ukraine’s stocks of interceptor munitions were running low.
Admittedly speaking “emotionally”, he said this was why it is important that Ukraine and Europe “need to be on the same page, so that everything else can be effective and timely”.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s chief diplomat, said on Thursday – following a meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss increasing support to Ukraine – that European capitals “must also dig deeper into their air defence stocks”, with Ukraine facing a “humanitarian catastrophe” this winter.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026