Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed a European-backed anti-ballistic missile shield as an alternative to the US Patriot system, but stressed that Kyiv still needs American interceptors for the coming winter. Zelenskyy stated that the Freyja defence project, originated in Ukraine, will be developed over the next 12 months. He emphasized the need for a winter package of air defence missiles, calculating that this should include 100 Patriot missiles per month, totaling 300 missiles for the winter. Although former US President Donald Trump has promised Ukraine a license to build Patriot missiles, production is likely some time away due to the interceptors' extreme complexity and slow output of critical parts by US subcontractors.