Ukraine has been waiting for nearly a month for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegsett to approve the delivery of missiles for the Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, quoted by Reuters.
„We have been waiting for nearly a month for Mr. Hegsett to approve the delivery of missiles for the Patriot and NASAMS. "I have instructed our team to once again raise this issue with the American side," Zelensky wrote on the social network "Ex".
The deliveries were financed by Ukraine's allies
The Ukrainian president has repeatedly called on the United States to accelerate deliveries before winter. The missiles were ordered by Kiev's NATO allies under the "Priority Ukraine Needs List" initiative, known by the English abbreviation PURL.
Under this scheme, Ukraine's allies finance the purchase of American weapons, which are then provided to Kiev. The supply of American missiles requires approval from Washington.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that a batch of interceptor missiles may not have been delivered. He said the delay was not due to political reasons.
Kiev also reports intelligence problems
The missile delay comes amid increased Russian attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Ukraine. According to Kiev, in recent weeks there have also been difficulties in obtaining American intelligence information related to the Russian missile strikes.
Ukrainian authorities also reported that “Starshield“ - the military version of the “Starlink“ satellite service of the “SpaceX“ company - had been limited for days. In their assessment, this created obstacles for Ukrainian military operations and the work of air defense.
Reuters reported that the order to limit “Starshield“ came from the White House. The management of “SpaceX“ and the US government are shifting responsibility for the restrictions between themselves.
The delayed deliveries of missiles and problems with access to intelligence information are further straining relations between Kiev and Washington. The next step depends on the approval of the US Department of Defense and the decision of Ukraine's allies to continue financing the armament.
Sources: bta.bg, marketscreener.com