President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday green-lit the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, the State Department said, but the Ukrainian president warned deliveries could take years. The approval, which goes to Congress for review, comes after weeks of complaints by Ukrainian authorities that its supplies of the interceptor missiles were dwindling. The statement did not provide an estimate for when the weapons could be delivered to Ukraine.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Friday in a post on X that “deliveries may begin ONLY IN A FEW YEARS.” “We are asking our American partners to find a solution for the time when there is a real danger and a real need to use PAC-3 interceptors,” Zelenskyy said, using an acronym for the weapons. The Ukrainian leader suggested that the U.S. and European allies could give his country missiles they have stockpiled now, which would later be replenished by this new purchase. Patriot missiles are among the most important weapons Ukraine has to intercept Russian drones and missiles.
U.S.-Ukraine tensions spiked earlier this month after Washington struck a diesel fuel deal with Russia. Ukraine also said that the U.S. was slowing its access to satellite internet services and had stopped some intelligence sharing. Tensions eased after Zelenskyy held talks with U.S. envoys in Oslo on Oct. 20.
The State Department said the weapons sale would be paid for with by donations from Ukraine’s allies but not with U.S. funds.
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