NEW YORK, August 17. /TASS/. Ukraine has practically depleted its stock of interceptor missiles for US-made Patriot systems and cannot use them against ballistic missiles, CNN reported.

According to the television channel, which gained access to a Patriot system in Ukraine, it has not made a single launch in about six weeks. The unit’s chief engineer told CNN that the system is absolutely useless without interceptor missiles.

CNN reported that the shortage of missiles in Ukraine is due to a global deficit, which has worsened amid their extensive use during the United States and Israel’s war against Iran. According to estimates by the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the coalition forces used an average of around 225 interceptor missiles per day during the first four days of the conflict, whilst Lockheed Martin produced around 620 such missiles in the whole of 2025.

Russian air defenses down 822 Ukrainian drones overnight

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian drones were intercepted over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, Rostov, Ryazan, Tambov and Tula regions, the Moscow region, Krasnodar Krai and the Republic of Crimea, as well as over the Azov and Black Seas

Read more