Trump Administration Holds up Patriot Missiles for Ukraine
Zelenskyy says Ukraine is receiving only 12 Patriot interceptors a month as Washington withholds approval for more missiles already paid for by allies.
- On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported delays in "certain types of vital supplies," pointing to the Department of Defense as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not signed off on paid Patriot missile contracts.
- The Trump administration is selling the missiles to Ukraine, unlike previous U.S. military assistance provided without charge, and Ukrainian officials suspect Washington is deliberately withholding weapons to pressure Ukraine into accepting unfavorable terms to end Russia's war.
- Supplying only 12 Patriot interceptors per month, the United States is providing roughly one-quarter of the volume during the President Joe Biden administration, while Zelenskyy warned Ukraine faces a severe shortage of PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles.
- Restrictions coincide with repeated disruptions to Starlink and Starshield communications alongside early-warning system failures; American officials attributed these outages to "bad weather conditions," while State Secretary Marco Rubio cited a software malfunction.
- Despite these disagreements, Zelenskyy expressed hope that relations with Washington could improve following the November 3 U.S. midterm elections, though the current delivery rate remains unchanged as of Monday with critical contracts awaiting Hegseth's signature.
122 Articles
122 Articles
US defense secretary has not formally rejected transfers but also has not completed required steps to approve them, Washington Post reports
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy accused the US of deliberately delaying the delivery of missiles for the Patriot system to Ukraine, even though European allies had already paid for them.
Kiev complains that vital supplies of American materiel have been delayed and intelligence cooperation has stalled, making the situation even more complicated in the face of Russian shelling through ballistic missiles.
The American Administration did not approve the transfer by third countries to Ukraine of missile interceptors for anti-aircraft missile systems (ZDCs) of Patriot, which it urgently needs, writes The Washington Post (WP). "At least some of Patriot ' s transferred interceptors come from friendly countries and require the approval of military minister Pete Hegset. (...) Hegset did not formally reject the transfer but did not take the necessar…
Ukraine urgently needs interceptor missiles to defend itself against Russian permanent fire. However, according to Kyyiv's statement, the US refuses to release it. President Trump, meanwhile, complains of lack of consideration.
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