Zelenskyy warns of urgent missile needs as Russia threat grows

Volodymyr Zelenskyy used his Face the Nation appearance to put a fresh marker on Ukraine’s battlefield needs: anti-ballistic missiles from the United States, and fast. As Russian strikes intensify and the risk of new attacks grows, the Ukrainian president said the missile demand is a major priority, underscoring how air defense remains central to Kyiv’s war effort.

CBS News listed Zelenskyy among the guests for the May 31 broadcast with Margaret Brennan, alongside Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, former Vice President Mike Pence and World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain. CBS said the Zelenskyy interview was taped on May 29 and framed it as an update on Ukraine’s war with Russia as the country braced for new potential Russian attacks. Separate reporting tied to the interview said Zelenskyy was pressing for more Patriot-style anti-ballistic missiles because the attacks have intensified.

The warning carried added weight because Ukraine had just received a new IRIS-T air defense system from Germany. Zelenskyy said on May 31 that the system arrived the previous day, a reminder that even as European allies continue to send equipment, Kyiv is still looking to Washington for the interceptors that can blunt the most dangerous Russian launches. The stakes are not abstract: air defenses determine whether cities, power sites and logistics networks stay functional under pressure.

Pence’s appearance pushed the program into the 2026 political fight as well as the war in Europe. His new book, What Conservatives Believe: Rediscovering the Conservative Conscience, is scheduled for release on June 2, 2026, and he used the segment to argue that he has seen evidence the Trump White House is whitewashing the Jan. 6 attack. That criticism keeps the former vice president in the center of a Republican identity struggle heading into another election cycle.

McCain’s interview pulled the conversation back to the humanitarian toll. The World Food Programme says 10.8 million people in Ukraine need humanitarian assistance, 3.4 million are internally displaced and more than 5 million are refugees in Europe. The agency says it reaches about 600,000 people each month, while United Nations reporting said a Russian strike on a WFP warehouse in Dnipro destroyed a significant quantity of food aid meant for thousands in frontline areas. The message from the broadcast was clear: Ukraine’s war is now a test of military supply, political resolve and humanitarian endurance all at once.