Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has opened up about the challenges he faced assembling Patriot missiles during his first meeting at the “Ramstein” contact group. He described how European stockpiles of air defense systems were desperately low, sharing that it was a struggle to collect just 20 missiles until Germany added another five. Fedorov recalled how he and then-NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte went table-to-table, appealing to each partner nation’s defense minister for just one or two missiles. They struck a deal with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to add five more, but only if they managed to collect a total of 20 from everyone else.

Fedorov also outlined a three-pronged war strategy focused on “Air. Land. Economy.” and said the ideal outcome is “ballistic missile against ballistic missile.” He noted that Russia’s weekly and monthly ballistic strike rates are outpacing U.S. production capacity, which also has to satisfy domestic needs. Supplies are tight under the PURL program, where the U.S. sells missile defense systems to Ukraine using European funds.

Fedorov resigned as defense minister on July 16, citing disagreements with then-Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. He later revealed deep internal issues within the Defense Ministry, where he had attempted to root out entrenched arms lobbying. The acting minister, in accordance with Ukrainian law, has no voting rights at government meetings, effectively sidelining them in the decision-making process.