Ukraine’s Zelenskyy praises US over $2.1bn Patriot missile deal but warns it could take years

The US has approved the sale ⁠of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles ⁠to Ukraine for an estimated $2.1bn, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned deliveries could take years and stockpiles were needed now to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks.

“The proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its integrated air and missile defense capabilities,” the US state department said in a statement on Friday.

The statement did not provide an estimate for when the weapons could be delivered to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy praised the “strong decision by the US state department” but said in a post on X early on Saturday: “However, it has been stipulated that deliveries may begin ONLY IN A FEW YEARS. We are asking our American partners to find a solution for the time when there is a real danger and a real need to use PAC-3 interceptors.

“Right now, the Russians are attacking our energy infrastructure every single day.”

Ukraine has long said it urgently needs more missile interceptors to knock down the growing waves ⁠of missiles Russia’s military fires at the country. The Patriot missile system is the most effective weapon to counter fast-moving ballistic missiles.

On Thursday, a Russian drone ​strike killed at least 14 people on a crowded rail platform ‌in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, while five ‌died in daytime strikes on two other provincial cities and a late-evening missile strike killed 1 person in the capital Kyiv, officials said.

Zelenskyy said US and European allies had sufficient stockpiles of Patriot interceptors to provide to Ukraine now, which could be replenished in the coming years through contracts already paid for by Ukraine and its partners.

He said this would “be the right approach” and was “entirely feasible”.

Delayed missile deliveries have added to Kyiv’s tensions with Washington ⁠after US president Donald Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia and criticised Zelenskyy for Ukraine’s unwillingness to stop attacks on Russian refineries.

But despite Ukraine’s urgency, it will probably not receive the missile interceptors quickly. Weapons sales typically take years to fulfil, and two people briefed on the US decision said the missiles – which are yet to be manufactured – are not expected to be delivered until a couple of years into the 2030s.

One of the people said Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense was encouraging the Pentagon to bring ‌forward the delivery date, possibly by giving Kyiv missiles already in the US arsenal and backfilling with the new Patriot interceptors.

Ukraine will pay for the missiles with contributions from Canada, Germany and Norway routed through a program called US Jumpstart, ​along with national funds financed by the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan, the state department said in a statement.

The programme uses donations from allies to buy weapons, services and training for Ukraine to support its self-defence following Russia’s invasion, according to a Pentagon website.

Lockheed Martin is the principal contractor for the sale of the Patriot interceptors.

The US has ⁠supplied large quantities of weapons to allies while also using munitions in its own military operations in Iran, ​raising concerns about inventories of key air defense ​and precision-guided weapons.

With Reuters and Agence France-Presse