• Analysis
US approves $2.1bn Patriot missile deal for Ukraine but Zelenskyy warns deliveries could take years
Washington has approved a $2.1bn patriot missile deal for Ukraine covering 500 PAC-3 interceptors, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned the deliveries may begin only in a few years while Russia attacks Ukrainian energy infrastructure daily.
What the deal covers
The US state department announced on Friday that it has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine for an estimated $2.1 billion. According to the department, the proposed sale would improve Ukraine's capability to meet current and future threats by strengthening its integrated air and missile defence.
- •500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles
- •Estimated value of $2.1 billion
- •Lockheed Martin named as the principal contractor
The delivery-timing problem
The state department statement gave no estimate for when the weapons could reach Ukraine. Two people briefed on the decision said the missiles, which have yet to be manufactured, are not expected to be delivered until a couple of years into the 2030s. One of those briefed said Ukraine's defence ministry is encouraging the Pentagon to speed things up, possibly by giving Kyiv missiles already in the US arsenal and backfilling with the new interceptors.
Zelenskyy's warning and request
Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the decision but warned on X that the agreement stipulates deliveries may begin only in a few years. He asked American partners to find a solution, saying the PAC-3 interceptors are needed now.
"Right now, the Russians are attacking our energy infrastructure every single day."
He argued that US and European allies have sufficient stockpiles of Patriot interceptors to provide to Ukraine now, replenishable through contracts already paid for, and called that approach the right one and entirely feasible.
How Ukraine pays and why it needs the interceptors now
Payment will come through contributions from Canada, Germany and Norway routed via the US Jumpstart program, along with funds from the EU's Ukraine Support Loan. According to a Pentagon website, the US Jumpstart program uses donations from allies to buy weapons, services and training for Ukraine's self-defence following Russia's invasion.
Ukraine says it urgently needs more air defense interceptors against growing waves of Russian missiles; the Patriot is the most effective weapon against fast-moving ballistic missiles. On Thursday, a Russian drone strike killed at least 14 people on a crowded rail platform in Dnipro, five people died in strikes on two other provincial cities, and one person was killed in a missile strike on Kyiv.
The delay adds to tensions with Washington, after Donald Trump criticised Zelenskyy over Ukraine's unwillingness to stop attacks on Russian refineries. US supplies to allies alongside its own operations in Iran have also raised concerns about inventories of key air defense and precision-guided weapons.
