Ukraine is awaiting approval from US Defense Secretary Pete Hegsett for a significant batch of Patriot interceptor missiles, which have already been paid for by Kiev's allies. Ukrainian officials and the military say the contracts are on Hegsett's desk but have not yet been signed.
“The contracts for the Patriot missiles are on Hegsett's desk. He is not approving them,“ a Ukrainian official told the “Kyiv Independent“. He said the delay did not appear to be a usual logistical problem.
President Volodymyr Zelensky also announced delays in deliveries of “certain types of vital equipment“ and directed his criticism at the US Department of Defense. “There are political agreements that have not been implemented at the working level“, Zelensky said.
Kiev relies on limited supplies
The “Patriot“ missiles are among Ukraine's main means of countering Russian ballistic missiles. According to Ukrainian officials, any delay increases the pressure on air defenses at a time of almost daily Russian strikes on cities and critical infrastructure.
Zelensky said that the US supplies Ukraine with approximately 12 “Patriot“ interceptor missiles per month. Ukrainian authorities do not disclose their current stockpiles for operational security reasons.
“Ukraine never discloses the amount of weapons it has so that the enemy does not know what the situation is“, a Ukrainian defense official said.
Kiev is also seeking additional quantities directly from other countries. Ukrainian embassies are in contact with governments that may have interceptor missiles available.
Discrepancy between Kiev and NATO
One of the main supply channels is NATO's PURL initiative. Through it, Ukraine's allies finance the purchase of American weapons, including missiles for the “Patriot“ systems.
A NATO official said that supplies under PURL were continuing, including those for air defense equipment. “Support for Ukraine through PURL continues to flow“, he said.
Another NATO official acknowledged that individual deliveries could be delayed, but said it was unlikely that the reason was political. Ukrainian officials, however, believe that this is precisely a political decision.
“It seems to be a political refusal to sign“, said a Ukrainian official. According to him, the alleged delay is another signal of pressure on Kiev.
The situation is developing against the backdrop of tensions between Ukraine and the administration of President Donald Trump. Kiev has already reported disruptions in early warning systems for Russian ballistic missiles, which rely on American intelligence. US officials attributed some of the problems to bad weather conditions, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio pointed to a software glitch.
Ukraine also suffered outages of Starlink and Starshield services, which hampered drone operations, including the use of interceptor drones against Russian strike drones.
Sources: news.bg, kyivindependent.com