“If there is no US support, it means that we have no air defense, no Patriot missiles, no jammers for electronic warfare, no 155-millimetre artillery rounds,” the Ukrainian president told the Washington Post. “It means we will go back, retreat, step by step, in small steps. We are trying to find some way not to retreat,” said Zelensky.

He said Ukraine is running short of interceptors and other air-defense weapons to protect its cities and infrastructure, adding it is increasing its own air-defense systems but not enough.

In a private phone call with US House Speaker Mike Johnson, President Zelensky repeated his call for Congress to provide additional aid for Kyiv.