US approves sale of Patriot missiles to Ukraine for $2.1 billion
The US State Department approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine for $2.1 billion, with potential delivery delays of several years.
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that it had approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine for $2.1 billion, a move considered one of the most significant steps in supplying Kyiv with defensive weapons since the start of Trump’s second term.
Delays in the delivery of the missiles have heightened tensions between Ukraine and the United States, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of an agreement with Russia regarding diesel and his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Ukraine’s reluctance to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Ukraine has long stated that it urgently needs more interceptor missiles to counter the increasing waves of Russian missiles launched against it.
Officials said a Russian drone strike killed at least 14 people on a busy railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday, while five others were killed in daytime strikes on two other cities. A late-evening missile strike killed one person in the capital, Kyiv.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Ukraine had been waiting for nearly a month for U.S. approval of vital missile supplies, as Russia intensified its attacks on civilian infrastructure and energy facilities.
However, despite Ukraine’s urgent need, the interceptor missiles are unlikely to be delivered quickly. Arms sales typically take years to implement, and two people familiar with the U.S. decision said the missiles, which have not yet been manufactured, are not expected to be delivered until the 2030s, at least two years from now.
One source said the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is encouraging the Pentagon to advance the delivery date, possibly by supplying Kyiv with existing missiles from the U.S. arsenal and later replacing them with new Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles.
The ministry stated in a statement that Ukraine would pay for the missiles through contributions from Canada, Germany, and Norway, transferred via a U.S. program called “Jump Start,” along with national funds financed by an EU-backed Ukraine Support Loan.
The “Jump Start” program was used in August to purchase 3,350 air-launched cruise missiles worth $825 million, produced by companies Zon 5 Technologies and K2 Aerospace.
