Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday said he intends to order 25 Patriot air defense systems from the United States to help counter Russia’s ongoing aerial attacks, which have caused rolling blackouts across the country ahead of winter.

Acknowledging the high cost and long production time of the systems, Zelenskyy suggested that European countries could temporarily provide their Patriots to Ukraine while awaiting replacements, stressing that “we would not like to wait.”

Russia’s combined missile and drone strikes have targeted Ukraine’s power grid, coinciding with Moscow’s push to capture the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk. Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine recently received additional Patriots from Germany, though the total number of systems in the country remains unclear. Air defenses are still stretched across Ukraine, leaving the nation vulnerable to winter energy disruptions.

NATO allies continue to coordinate large weapons shipments to Ukraine, with European nations and Canada buying much of the equipment from the U.S. Unlike the previous Biden administration, the current Trump administration is not providing arms to Kyiv.

Russia has increasingly refined its strikes on energy infrastructure, using hundreds of drones—some with cameras for precise targeting—to overwhelm Ukraine’s defenses, often attacking regional substations and switchyards instead of centralized grids. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Monday that the attacks have forced scheduled blackouts across most regions and urged citizens to conserve electricity, especially during morning and evening peak hours.

Meanwhile, fighting continues around Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, where Zelenskyy said Russia has positioned 170,000 troops for a renewed offensive. Reports from the Institute for the Study of War indicate a recent relative lull but warn of intensified Russian attacks in the coming days.