Former Vice President Mike Pence and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met on Sunday to discuss Ukraine's defense needs against Russian ballistic missile strikes. During an interview on NewsNation’s "The Hill Sunday," Pence stated that Russian forces have shifted their tactics to utilize high-arcing ballistic and cruise missiles. Pence and Zelensky both emphasized that Ukrainian forces require Patriot or Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors to counter these specific weapons.
The meeting follows a July decision by the Trump administration to grant Ukraine a license to co-produce Patriot missiles. However, reported analysis suggests it will take years for Ukraine to reach suitable production levels. Additionally, U.S. missile stockpiles have been affected by the ongoing Iran war; CNN reported earlier this month that the U.S. has used approximately 80 percent of its THAAD interceptors and half of its Patriot missiles. Pence denied that these depleted stockpiles are negatively impacting Ukraine's defense capabilities.
Zelensky stated on Sunday that he also briefed U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) in Kyiv regarding Russia’s missile strikes. According to United Nations data, July was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since May 2022. Pence noted that without further military assistance, Ukraine faces the risk of strikes on energy infrastructure as winter approaches, citing recent attacks on a children's hospital and a shopping mall.
A person in Ukraine would notice the impact of these systems through the stability of their energy infrastructure and utility bills as winter nears. Pence stated that Russian forces intend to use ballistic missiles to disable the energy grid; the presence or absence of interceptors would determine whether households maintain heating and electricity during freezing temperatures. The scale of civilian impact is reflected in United Nations monitoring reports, which identified July 2026 as the month with the highest civilian casualties in over four years, indicating that current defense levels have not prevented increased fatalities.
The decision to grant licenses for domestic Patriot production creates a precedent for long-term military-industrial cooperation between the U.S. and Ukraine, though the concrete effects on the battlefield will not be felt for years due to production timelines. In the short term, the request for 5 percent of existing U.S. resources poses a policy choice for the Trump administration regarding how to balance domestic stockpiles against international defense obligations. The next steps involve the U.S. government's response to the specific request for interceptors and the implementation of the co-production licenses, though no specific dates for the delivery of new units were reported.