20 августа 2026

For much of the day today, work continued in Kyiv and the region – in Boryspil and Brovary – in the aftermath of the Russian strike. It was a combined attack involving many ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones. Unfortunately, ballistic missiles are the most difficult challenge right now. While about 90 percent of the cruise missiles in this attack were intercepted, the situation with ballistic missiles is significantly worse. We need missiles for Patriots, and only our partners can provide them. At all levels, we convey to them both what we need and the fact that we know our partners are capable of meeting this need. We ain’t talking about gifts. Ukraine is ready to buy the weapons. What matters is that decisions be made – appropriate political decisions by our partners, first and foremost in the U.S. I am grateful to everyone who is genuinely helping Ukraine defend itself and save lives.