Ukraine’s air defence supplies ‘insufficient’, Zelensky says

President Zelensky described Ukraine’s air defense supplies as “inadequate” and declared that many systems were “missile-free” by Friday morning.

“I can say this clearly because I have those missiles today,” the president said, adding that the country had received a “significant package” earlier in the day.

His comments came after days of intense Russian bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which left thousands of people without heat and electricity during the bitterly cold winter months.

Schools in Kiev will close until February as the city faces severe power outages due to temperatures falling as low as -19C, the capital’s mayor announced later in the day.

Zelensky called on Ukraine’s allies to ensure “expedited delivery” of existing missiles and said the shipment did not mean “winter will end for us tomorrow.”

“And that doesn’t mean the enemy will stop bombing us tomorrow,” he wrote on social media.

Ukraine relies on Western partners for many vital air defense systems, which Zelensky said require a “constant supply of missiles.”

“Securing these packages requires enormous effort, blood and human lives.”

He criticized countries that “stockpiled” such ammunition: “If we are at war, we really need it. And in some countries, there is no war.”

On Friday evening, he said Ukraine had “intelligence information” that Russia was preparing for large-scale attacks.

“Materials are insufficient,” he wrote on Telegram. “We are trying to speed things up and it is important that our partners hear us.

Earlier this week, Kiev declared a state of emergency in the energy sector and appointed former prime minister Denys Shmyhal as energy minister to deal with the situation.

Ukrainian officials also accused Moscow of deliberately exploiting the exceptionally cold winter season.

Shmyhal told the Ukrainian parliament on Friday that Moscow was “betting on being able to break energy terrorism” and ordered state companies to increase energy imports.

Thousands of energy workers are racing to restore electricity across the country by repairing facilities and substations bombed by Russian attacks.

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that for the first time in the war, most of the capital was left without heating and a “major electricity shortage”.

He told the Reuters news agency that electricity levels had fallen to less than half of what was needed.

Curfews imposed in the city after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 have been eased to allow residents to access emergency centers providing heating and electricity.

Klitschko suggested earlier this week that residents should leave Kiev if possible to relieve pressure on critical resources.

Also on Friday, Zelensky said Ukrainian negotiators were heading to the United States for further talks on a potential ceasefire.

He said he hoped the proposals would be signed with the United States at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, next week, “if everything is finalized and an agreement is reached from the American side.”

Meanwhile, Russian attacks continued into Friday, including in the central Ukrainian city of Nikopol, where authorities said two people were killed.