Yesterday, Russia launched another one of its massive and deadly attacks on Kyiv, firing 28 missiles, including 24 ballistic missiles and 4 Zircon cruise missiles, along with more than 100 drones. Ukraine intercepted 98 of the drones but failed to intercept a single missile. Seventeen Ukrainians were murdered, and dozens more were wounded. It was the latest reminder of the dire situation Ukraine faces as it runs out of the Patriot interceptors it has repeatedly warned that it desperately needs.
As Russia intensifies its missile attacks, Reuters reported another dangerous development that should concern every Western government. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, North Korea is preparing to deploy a missile unit to western Russia equipped with up to 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for use against Ukraine.
The timing could hardly be more revealing. Ukraine's supply of Patriot interceptors is running dangerously low, and more of Russia's nightly missile barrages are getting through, destroying residential buildings, murdering civilians, and leaving Ukrainians digging through the rubble for their loved ones. Russia is exploiting those growing gaps in Ukraine's air defenses just as North Korea prepares further to deepen its participation in Moscow's genocidal war, expanding a military partnership that has grown significantly since Russia's full-scale invasion.
Making matters worse, the Financial Times reported that during a recent Oval Office meeting, Zelenskyy asked Trump for several hundred additional Patriot interceptor missiles. Trump reportedly refused, arguing that U.S. stockpiles were too limited and needed to protect American forces and facilities in the Middle East.
Trump also backed away from his earlier commitment to allow Ukraine to produce Patriot systems under license, saying the U.S. had “not agreed” to the arrangement just weeks after publicly telling Zelenskyy, “We’re going to give a license to you to make Patriots.” Following yesterday’s attack, Zelenskyy revealed that deliveries of Patriot interceptors have fallen to roughly one-third of last year’s levels, renewed his appeal for additional missiles or faster production, and warned that “ballistic missile interceptors could have saved the lives of those killed today.”
While the West debates aid packages, worries about dwindling stockpiles, and shifts its attention elsewhere, Russia’s thuggish, murderous partners are not missing a beat.
Take North Korea. What started with artillery shells evolved into ballistic missiles and then roughly 14,000 troops, with Ukrainian officials warning that another 30,000 are on the way. Now Pyongyang is preparing to deploy its own missile unit to Russia, another significant step in its transformation from a weapons supplier into an active participant in Russia’s war.
China continues supplying the chips, dual-use technology, machine tools, and industrial components that keep Russia’s war machine running despite Western sanctions, while Iran has spent years arming Moscow with drones and military technology. Putin’s war is being sustained by an authoritarian network that is not hesitating to provide the weapons, technology, money, and manpower Russia needs to keep killing Ukrainians.
In July alone, Russia dropped more than 8,300 glide bombs on Ukraine, the highest monthly total since the full-scale invasion began, while its missile and drone attacks continue to intensify. Simultaneously, the U.S. is pulling back, leaving Ukraine with barely any of the weapons it needs to protect its cities. And Ukrainians are paying a very deadly price.
What is so infuriating is the complete lack of urgency from the international community. Twelve years into Russia’s war against Ukraine and more than four years into its full-scale invasion, Ukraine is still forced to plead with its partners for enough air defenses and weapons to keep Ukrainians alive.
So while the U.S. provides cover for Russia and betrays Ukraine, Europe continues to act as though there is still time to debate what comes next. Meanwhile, Ukrainians are being murdered every day, and there remains this inexplicable expectation that Ukraine can simply continue surviving while everyone else decides how much they are willing to do.
I don’t know how many more destroyed homes, murdered families, or Ukrainians digging through rubble with their bare hands it will take. Russia and its partners are moving with terrifying urgency to destroy Ukraine while the countries capable of helping Ukraine continue to hesitate, offering promises, statements of solidarity, and weapons that arrive too late or never arrive at all. How many more Ukrainians have to die before the West acts with the urgency this war demands?
Japan’s Defense Report Deserves Far More Attention
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Aug 4
As with so many important developments these days, Japan’s newly released defense report barely got any attention. What makes the report significant is not that it revealed some new intelligence about Russia, China, or North Korea, but that it acknowledges something Ukraine has been warning about since the beginning of Russia’s genocidal full-scale invasion. While much of the international community viewed Russia’s war as a European security crisis, Kyiv warned that Moscow’s invasion would reach far beyond Ukraine, embolden authoritarian regimes, deepen military cooperation among America’s adversaries, and reshape the global security landscape. Those warnings were repeatedly dismiss…
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