Zelenskyy: Ukraine to hold talks with US over delayed Patriot missile deliveries
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
Ukraine has been waiting for nearly a month for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems. Kyiv will hold talks with Washington on the issue, according to a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The president said he had received briefings from the heads of the Defense and Foreign Affairs ministries, as well as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the situation with supplies of air defense interceptors.
“We are working on several tracks – with the United States, Europe, and other partners that have stocks of PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles. In particular, we have been waiting for nearly a month for Mr. Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriots and NASAMS. I instructed our team to raise this with the American side once again,” Zelenskyy noted.
The president added that talks with other countries on missiles for Ukraine’s air defense systems were also ongoing.
The Trump administration has not approved the transfer of missile defense systems to Ukraine needed to protect against Russian missile strikes. In particular, this concerns interceptor missiles for Patriot systems.
Yurii Ihnat, head of the Communications Department of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said Ukraine could have had enough Patriot missiles to last several years if a significant portion of the interceptors had not been used in the Middle East.
