Ukraine faces missile shortage due to Middle East war, says Zelensky

According to Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine will have a shortage of missiles to combat Russia as a result of the Middle East war.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia's Vladimir Putin wanted a long war between the US, Israel, and Iran because it would weaken Kyiv, despite US funds being diverted elsewhere.

Zelensky also stated that US President Donald Trump was not on any side in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and that he did not want to antagonise Putin.

Following US President Donald Trump's repeated critique of the UK prime minister, he urged Trump and Sir Keir Starmer to meet and find common ground.

The Middle East war has erupted across the region, with Iran blaming neighbouring states for retaliation to the US and Israel's strikes. It's now in its third week.

Zelensky said he had a very bad feeling about the impact of the war in Ukraine, adding that peace talks were "constantly postponed". War in Iran has one cause – war in Iran.

The situation was also helping Putin because it raised energy prices, which was a problem for Ukraine, and it could have a deficit of missiles, according to Putin, who said that the situation was affecting Ukraine.

A long war in Iran is a plus for Putin, Putin said. "In addition to energy prices, it means the depletion of US reserves and the depletion of air defence manufacturers. So we [Ukraine] have a depletion of resources.

Zelensky said there will definitely be a Patriot missile shortage, which would be a challenge, adding that the question now is "when will all the caches in the Middle East be exhausted?.

America produces 60-65 missiles per month. Imagine, 65 missiles per month are produced each year, out of a total of 700-800 missiles produced each month.

And on the first day of the Middle East war, 803 missiles were launched.

Zelensky also discussed his US counterpart's stance on the Ukraine war, saying that Trump prefers to negotiate rather than take sides in Ukraine's conflict against Russia's illegal invasion.

The Ukrainian president said he wants to end the war, but he added that the US president and his advisors had chosen a close dialogue with Putin, not to irritate him because Europe irritated him and Putin does not want to talk to Europe.

Following Trump's reprimanding of the Nato allies and Sir Keir's apparent lack of military response, the conflict sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran has erupted into a diplomatic conflict. Zelensky warned against division among Western leaders.

Following talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president said that although he would not tell Trump what to do, the pair could meet to "reload the ties.

I would really like President Trump to meet with Starmer.

So that they have a common position," he said.

Trump branded Starmer 'no Winston Churchill' in his latest attack on Tuesday, saying that although he thinks the UK prime minister is a nice guy, he is 'disappointed'.

Sir Keir's reply remained firm, saying that the UK will not be drawn into a larger conflict, not drawn into it, as Downing Street reiterated an enduring US-UK relationship.

On Tuesday, Sir Keir welcomed Zelensky to Downing Street, the latest stop on the Ukrainian leader's tour of European capital cities.

Zelensky travelled to Madrid on Wednesday after visiting Paris last week and then departed to Paris. The visits came as the Middle East conflict in Ukraine overshadows Ukraine's four-year fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.

I think it's really important that we are clear that the primary concern must remain on Ukraine,

Sir Keir said.

The Ukrainian leader spoke to MPs in Parliament as part of Zelensky's visit to London.

Theregimes in Russia and Iran are brothers in hate, and that is why they are brothers of arms,

Zelensky said. "We want dictatorships built on hatred, not to win or lose in anything. And we do not want no such regime to jeopardise Europe or our allies.

Sir Keir; Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte; Defence Secretary John Healey; and opposition party leaders were among those in the audience in a packed Westminster committee room.

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