Ukraine has waited "nearly a month" for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to sign off on delivering vital air defense missiles to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, as Russia continues to hammer the country with drone and missile strikes. Ukrainian officials are attempting to source interceptor missiles fired by the U.S.-made Patriot system from several countries, Zelensky said, adding he had asked Ukrainian officials "to raise this with the American side once again." Analysts say Moscow is hoping to take advantage of Kyiv's desperate shortage of expensive and scarce Patriot missiles to target Ukraine's vital energy infrastructure as the austere winter conditions start to set in. But between years of donations of Patriot interceptors to Ukraine, concerns across Europe about possible Russian attacks on their own soil and the toll of the U.S.-led war with Iran, U.S. officials are worried about American stockpiles as defense companies struggle to meet the surging demand for air defenses.
Patriot is currently the only real option Ukraine has to intercept ballistic missiles, although it has other systems to knock out cruise missiles and to take down drones. In a statement to Newsweek, a senior Pentagon official said there had been "no change to Department of War policy regarding any capabilities we are enabling Europeans to provide to Ukraine." "The Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, through which NATO allies and partners provide commensurate contributions for U.S.-provided defense articles and services, continues unaltered," the official said. Kyiv's need for particularly American-made systems comes as relations between the countries fray.
Ukraine is frustrated with temporary curbs to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet system and its military-grade parallel service, Starshield, while President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Zelensky. Ukrainian officials said limits imposed earlier this month had now been lifted, but had hampered Ukraine's ability to launch medium-range drone strikes on Russian assets and complicated Ukrainian defenses against incoming Russian drone assaults. Meanwhile, the U.S. denied cutting off intelligence flows to Ukraine which alert Kyiv to missile strikes on its major cities, and Zelensky has said Ukraine is being pressured by the U.S. to negotiate with Russia on a peace deal.
Three-way talks have been scheduled for next month. Hegseth, who has pushed for Europe to provide the bulk of aid for Ukraine, said last week the U.S. hadn't changed its stance on aid for Ukraine, but U.S. stockpiles were a priority. His comments came shortly after The Washington Post reported Patriot deliveries for Ukraine from third countries with missile stocks were stalled and required Hegseth's sign off.
Zelensky said last week Kyiv had only received 24 interceptor missiles in the previous three months, while Russia recently fired 30 ballistic missiles at Ukraine in a single night. Ukraine would need an average of 350 Patriot interceptors each month, Zelensky told ABC News, shortly after appealing to European leaders for a "winter package" of aid, including around 300 Patriot missiles. Zelensky said on Monday Ukraine was also waiting on NASAMS deliveries, referring to the medium-range National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System.
Russia attacked Ukraine with 140 drones and three missiles overnight, Kyiv's air force said on Monday. A Ukrainian energy site was damaged in Russian strikes on the western Khmelnytskyi region late Sunday, local officials said. Despite Trump's objections, Ukraine has continued to attack Russian oil refineries with long-range drones, hoping to cut off revenue funding the war effort for the Kremlin.
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