Zelensky reiterates Ukraine's need for 25 Patriot systems

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeated his view that Ukraine needs more than two dozen Patriot air defence systems to secure the country.

"According to our military, we need 25 Patriot systems to completely secure Ukraine," he said at a press conference in Kiev.

He avoided mentioning the number of Patriot systems already in place, but stressed that Patriots are not enough, and that systems with other ranges and capabilities are also required for a complex air defence system.

The Ukrainian leader noted that he was promised five additional Patriot batteries or comparable systems at the recent NATO summit in Washington. A month ago, Zelensky had said in Italy on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit that his country needed at least seven such systems.

Since the start of Russia's all out invasion of Ukraine, the country has received at least four Patriot systems, including three from Germany.

However several launch pads have either been destroyed or damaged by Russian air strikes, according to media reports.

A complete system comprising radar, antennas, fire control and command posts and several launch pads costs the equivalent of several hundred million euros. According to various sources, the unit price of one missile is the equivalent of around €3 million ($3.3 million).