Key takeaways:
- The State Department approved a $2.1 billion sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine.
- Canada, Germany and Norway are contributing to the purchase, and the State Department says no U.S. funds are involved.
- The BBC reported that the missiles are expected to be newly built and that no delivery schedule has been announced.
The United States has approved the sale of 500 Patriot air-defense missiles to Ukraine, a $2.1 billion purchase paid for without U.S. funds as Kyiv presses for more protection against Russian attacks.
The State Department announced the proposed sale Friday. Canada, Germany and Norway are providing donations toward the purchase, while the department said in a statement cited by the BBC that Ukraine would also use national funds financed by a European Union loan. The department identified the missiles as PAC-3 interceptors and named U.S. company Lockheed Martin as the principal contractor, according to the BBC.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political and economic stability in Europe,” the State Department said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged Washington to speed up Patriot deliveries. He said earlier this week that Ukraine had waited almost a month for U.S. approval of critical missile supplies, the BBC reported. NBC News reported that he had accused the Pentagon of delaying interceptor missiles purchased for Ukraine by other countries.
“Our soldiers have been very strong this year. Then we really build, try to build air defense shield to defend our civilians, but always a big deficit with Patriot missiles and other kind of air defense,” Zelenskyy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” two weeks before the announcement.
In a Telegram post late Friday, Zelenskyy said Russian ballistic missiles had struck two Ukrainian regions earlier that day. “They continue to carry out terrorist strikes against our cities,” he said, according to the BBC. The BBC reported that Russia has intensified attacks on key energy infrastructure ahead of winter and that Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is running critically low on Patriot missiles.
The approval does not establish when the missiles will reach Ukraine. The BBC reported that the production schedule was unclear and that the order was understood to be for newly built missiles rather than existing stock, making rapid delivery unlikely. It cited U.S. Defense Department figures showing production of only 600 Patriot missiles a year and reported a global shortage linked to U.S. use of the munitions in its war against Iran.
The announcement comes amid fresh friction between Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump. Trump recently described the Ukrainian leader as an obstacle to ending the war and said it was time for Ukraine to have a new leader, according to NBC News and the BBC.
NBC News also reported that Zelenskyy had raised concerns about restrictions on the Starlink satellite internet service. Ukraine said Saturday that Starlink and its military variant, Starshield, were fully functional after a long outage, two days after Trump indicated that Starlink operator Elon Musk had been asked to “put it back.”
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