An Ukrainian rescuer works at the site of a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia on August 11, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to escalate the war, calling on the country's partners to ramp up sanctions pressure on Moscow and provide Kyiv with further air defense support. "Every step Russia takes – increasing ballistic missile production, bringing in North Korean equipment, preparing for mobilization – all of this shows that Moscow is preparing not for peace, but for escalation. Russian forces have increased the number of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, likely as part of a push to exploit Kyiv's shortage of ballistic missile interceptors. Ukraine remains heavily reliant on the American Patriot PAC-3 system to intercept Russian ballistic missiles, even as domestic companies such as Fire Point scramble to procure their own antimissile technology.