The European Commission responded to Zelenskyʼs statement on the refusal of additional anti-ballistic missiles

European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari said that Ukraine independently determines its defense needs and can make requests, including for interceptor missiles to counter ballistic attacks.

He said this at a briefing in Brussels, reports a Babel correspondent.

Commenting on the statement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that partners refused to provide additional anti-ballistic missiles, Ujvari emphasized that it is Ukraine that determines its needs in accordance with the situation on the battlefield and submits relevant requests to the EU.

“Ukraine has the opportunity to request, for example, interceptor missiles or related equipment, and then we can consider such requests,” he said.

According to the spokesman, the Ukrainian side regularly sends new requests and contracts, which the European Commission considers "as quickly as possible".

When asked about possible obstacles to the transfer of interceptor missiles to Ukraine, which are already in the possession of certain EU countries, Ujvari replied that he was "not aware of any problems".

He added that the priority remains the purchase of weapons produced in the EU or Ukraine. At the same time, current rules allow financing purchases outside the European Union if the situation requires it.

The European Commission also assured that they are continuing their continuous work on new military assistance packages for Ukraine.

"I just ask for a little patience. We will act the same way as before: after the next list of products is approved within the European Commission, we will announce it publicly. This is exactly what happened during the visit of the President of the European Commission to Kyiv, when she announced a €10 billion package intended for the purchase of missiles, drones, and fighter jets. We will continue to act in the same way: as soon as new lists of products are approved, we will immediately announce it," Ujvari said.

What preceded

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on August 5 that Ukraine had received a refusal from its partners to transfer additional anti-ballistic missile systems. He did not rule out that this could be due to Ukraine being "more accommodating".

According to Zelensky, in the first half of 2026, the supply of missiles for Ukraineʼs air defense from partners decreased by three times compared to last year. The official reason, which was reported to Kyiv by the partners, was the hostilities in the Middle East.

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