Overview
- In an AP interview in Istanbul on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a prolonged U.S.-Israeli fight with Iran could cut expected Patriot air-defense deliveries to Ukraine.
- Zelenskyy said Patriots are vital against Russian ballistic missiles and that Ukraine has no substitute that can do the same job.
- The Iran war, now in its sixth week, has strained limited U.S. stockpiles and production and, Zelenskyy said, higher oil prices are giving Russia more cash for its war.
- After recent visits to Gulf states and talks with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Zelenskyy said partners agreed to supply PAC-3 missiles pending U.S. coordination and he offered Ukraine’s drone know-how in return for anti-ballistic help.
- Ukraine’s military reports a stepped-up Russian spring offensive with new attempts to pierce defensive lines as roughly 20% of the country remains under occupation.