Ukraine war briefing: Small batch of Patriots arrives as Zelenskyy pleads for more

President won’t name supplier and has previously said he ‘does some things I can’t even share’ to obtain vital air defence missiles.

What we know on day 1,644 Ukraine has ⁠recently received a ⁠small number ⁠of US-made ​Patriot interceptors capable ⁠of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles, Volodymyr ​Zelenskyy ‌said .

He did not ​say how ​many ​had arrived, ​or ‌who ​had ​supplied them.

Kyiv also ‌got confirmation of future supplies of the French Crotale surface-to-air ‌missile system, the president ​was quoted as saying by broadcaster ⁠Suspilne.

Zelenskyy said this month that Ukraine needs 5% of US Patriot production to meet its needs but has only been receiving 1%.

“From 1% to 5%, I have some months and millions [of] phone calls and anything else.

I do some things which I can’t even share.

It doesn’t mean that it’s out of the law.

But I can’t speak about it.” Russia is set to extend its diesel export ban ⁠through September as fuel shortages persist in the domestic market, with ⁠refineries still ⁠idle following ​repeated Ukrainian drone attacks, three industry sources told Reuters.

Russia ​introduced the diesel export ban on 8 July.

One of the sources said extending ⁠the ban until the end of the year is also under discussion.

Russia’s energy ministry ⁠did not respond to a Reuters request to comment.

For non-diesel fuels the ban extends to 31 January next year, including a ban for export of motor gasoline .

Export of jet fuel is banned, for the moment, until the end of November 2026.