President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during a briefing at the Council of the European Union’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on October 23, 2025. Getty Images/Thierry Monasse
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine has strengthened the Patriot system component in its own air defense with the support of Germany. The head of state announced this in his Telegram channel.
“I thank Germany and personally Chancellor Friedrich Merz for this our joint step to protect lives from Russian terror. For some time we have been preparing this reinforcement of air defense, and now the agreements reached have been fulfilled. Thank you to everyone who helped”
– President of Ukraine
Zelensky stressed that Russia’s air strikes remain the Kremlin leader’s main bet in the war, because
“it is precisely through terror that he seeks to compensate for his inability to achieve his crazy goals on Earth”
– President of Ukraine
Therefore, every strengthening of our air defense literally brings us closer to the end of the war that we all are waiting for. The less success Russia has, the greater its incentive to end the war
“Therefore, every strengthening of our air defense literally brings us closer to the end of the war that we all are waiting for. The less success Russia has, the greater its incentive to end the war”
– President of Ukraine
Zelensky added that currently Ukraine, together with partners, continues to build a reliable air defense system capable of “guaranteeing security not only for Ukraine, but also for partners, when needed”.
“guaranteeing security not only for Ukraine, but also for partners, when needed”
– President of Ukraine
Negotiations on further joint steps to strengthen air defense are ongoing at both government levels and directly with the manufacturers of the necessary systems. There will be further results.
As a reminder, on September 29 German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany will hand over two more Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine by the end of 2025. This will take place with the support of Norwegian partners.
On October 10 Zelensky announced that Ukraine is preparing an agreement to purchase weapons from the United States. Among the priorities are air defense systems, the HIMARS artillery system along with modifications to enable ATACMS tactical missiles.