Pence: Stopping ballistic attacks in Ukraine will ‘take the last fighting tool out of Vladimir Putin’s hands’
Pence: Halting Ukraine’s Missile Threat Strips Putin’s Last Tool
Provpnadvice.com – Pence – Former Vice President Mike Pence joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this weekend in pressing Washington to release interceptor missiles before winter deepens Kyiv’s exposure to Russian ballistic strikes. Speaking on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” alongside host Chris Stirewalt, Pence framed the issue in blunt terms: without Patriot or THAAD interceptors in the right atmospheric layer, Ukrainian cities remain sitting ducks for high-arc warheads that no legacy air-defense system can reliably engage.
Why Ballistic Missiles Change the Equation
Moscow’s air campaign has shifted toward long-range ballistic and cruise missiles aimed at energy infrastructure and populated centers. Older Soviet-era layers and the short- to medium-range Western missiles already deployed in Ukraine were never engineered to track warheads moving at several kilometers per second. The result, as Pence outlined, is a gap in the kill chain: a ballistic missile arriving at terminal velocity leaves operators seconds of warning and little chance for a second intercept.
The Ukrainian president made his ask explicit during a bilateral conversation that followed his Sunday address at the National Prayer Breakfast in Kyiv. Zelensky requested that Washington free up to five percent of its Patriot interceptor stock so Ukraine can begin countering ballistic attacks in the near term rather than waiting years for a domestic production line to mature.
“Stopping those ballistic missile attacks essentially will in many ways take the last fighting tool out of Vladimir Putin’s hands,” Pence told Stirewalt.
The logic is straightforward. Ballistic missiles constitute the final pillar of Russian coercive leverage over Ukrainian territory. Remove that pillar and Moscow loses its capacity to threaten cities at will, degrade civilian morale, and force Ukrainian units to pull resources away from the front to shield rear-area populations.
Production Licenses and the Winter Timeline
In July, President Donald Trump authorized Ukraine to co-produce Patriot missiles on its own soil. Defense analysts caution, however, that the path from licensing to operational output runs through years of supply-chain buildout, workforce training, and quality-control certification. Zelensky himself acknowledged the gap, briefing Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) in Kyiv on Sunday about Russia’s “ongoing ballistic missile terror” and the urgency of bridging today’s vulnerability to tomorrow’s self-sufficiency.
“It is very important for Ukraine to have the capabilities to counter this, and implementing the decision to grant licenses for the production of Patriots could significantly help,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
Interceptor Inventories Under Strain
Complicating the picture is the state of America’s own stockpiles. Earlier this month, CNN reported that the United States had consumed roughly eighty percent of its THAAD interceptors and about half of its Patriot interceptors during the Iran war. Those figures, if accurate, place the very systems Ukraine most needs in short supply at the moment of greatest demand.
Pence pushed back on the notion that Pentagon depletion is already translating into Ukrainian vulnerability. Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” with host Dana Bash, he dismissed the concern outright.
“I don’t see it that way, and I don’t think … the Ukrainians do either,” he said.
Whether remaining U.S. stockpiles can cover both domestic theater commitments and a meaningful transfer to Kyiv remains an open question for congressional oversight committees and the Ukrainian command structure alike.
FAQ
What exactly did Zelensky ask of Washington?
The Ukrainian president requested that the United States release up to five percent of its Patriot interceptor stock so Kyiv can begin countering ballistic-missile attacks in the near term, rather than waiting for a domestic co-production line to reach operational output.
Why can’t Ukraine’s existing air-defense systems stop ballistic missiles?
Ukraine’s current architecture—built around Soviet-era systems and Western-supplied short- and medium-range missiles—was not designed to intercept warheads traveling at several kilometers per second in the upper atmosphere. Patriot and THAAD interceptors occupy the specific altitude and speed band needed to achieve a meaningful kill probability against ballistic targets.
What did Trump authorize in July?
President Trump authorized Ukraine to co-produce Patriot missiles on its own soil, a longer-term commitment to Kyiv’s air-defense needs. Analysts note that moving from licensing to operational production requires years of supply-chain development, workforce training, and quality-control certification.
How depleted are U.S. interceptor stockpiles?
CNN reported earlier this month that the United States had consumed nearly eighty percent of its THAAD interceptors and roughly half of its Patriot interceptors during the Iran war. Pence disputed the implication that this depletion already endangers Ukraine, telling Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he did not see the problem and believed the Ukrainians did not either.
