Financial Times reports Kyiv has largely exhausted interceptors for Patriot
batteries, creating a critical gap against Russian ballistic missiles. Ukrainian
officials say US-supplied interceptors sent in recent weeks have been used up.
As Moscow steps up strikes ahead of winter, pressure on Ukraine's air defenses
has intensified: after a Russian missile strike on Kyiv on Aug. 5 and a
follow-up attack three days later, Ukraine failed to intercept any incoming
ballistic missiles in both waves, the FT says. The Ukrainian air force has
stopped routinely publishing Russian missile launch counts to avoid revealing
how many missiles went un-intercepted.
