Trump Backs Delivery of 500 Patriot Missiles to Ukraine

Donald Trump has approved the sale of hundreds of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, although the weapons may not reach the country until 2032.

The US president authorised the sale of 500 advanced mobile surface-to-air interceptor systems after Volodymyr Zelensky urged Western allies to accelerate deliveries.

However, the Ukrainian leader warned that the missiles could take years to arrive, despite his repeated appeals to Mr Trump for additional Patriot systems.

The US State Department said the PAC-3 interceptor deal is valued at $2.1 billion (£1.6 billion) and will be financed entirely by Canada and European countries.

Mr Zelensky welcomed what he called a “strong decision” and said he was “grateful”, but noted that the agreement “stipulates deliveries may begin only in a few years”.

He said he had requested a “winter support package” providing 100 Patriot interceptors each month as Russian forces continue their daily attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. In his view, 500 missiles would be sufficient to help defend the country’s skies.

But the Ukrainian president added: “We are asking for decisions that can guarantee the protection of lives not the day after tomorrow or sometime later, but at the very moment the threat is there – when Russia is killing and destroying.”

Mr Zelensky suggested that the US and European allies could transfer missiles from their existing stockpiles immediately, then replace those weapons through the newly approved purchase.

Donald Trump has responded to Volodymyr Zelensky’s appeals by approving the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine

Patriot systems can identify, track and intercept drones, cruise missiles and short-range and tactical ballistic missiles

Patriot interceptors are among Ukraine’s most crucial defences against Russian drones and missile attacks.

The approval, which must now undergo congressional review, follows weeks of warnings from Ukrainian officials that their stocks of interceptor missiles were running dangerously low.

Earlier this month, Mr Zelensky called on Europe to “unblock” Patriot deliveries and said allies needed to keep supporting Ukrainian combat aviation against Russian jet-powered “shaheds” — the drones used in Moscow’s attacks.

The US State Department said the proposed sale would “improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its integrated air and missile defense capabilities”.

Officials did not say when the weapons were expected to be delivered.

The department added: “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.”

Relations between Washington and Kyiv deteriorated earlier this month after the US reached a diesel fuel agreement with Russia.

Ukraine also accused the US of restricting its access to satellite internet services and suspending some intelligence-sharing arrangements.

The dispute eased after Mr Zelensky met US envoys in Oslo on October 20.

The State Department said the weapons would be paid for by contributions from Ukraine’s allies rather than US government funds.

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The $2.1 billion agreement would represent one of the most substantial commitments to defensive weapons for Kyiv since the start of the second Trump administration.

The prospect of delayed deliveries has added to tensions between Ukraine and the US, following Mr Trump’s announcement of the diesel deal with Russia and Mr Zelensky’s criticism of Kyiv’s reluctance to halt attacks on Russian refineries.

Ukraine has repeatedly said it urgently requires more interceptors to counter the escalating waves of missiles launched by Russian forces.

The Patriot system is regarded as the most effective defence against fast-moving ballistic missiles.

On Thursday, a Russian drone attack killed at least 14 people at a crowded railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Five more people were killed in daytime strikes on two other regional cities, while a late-night missile attack in Kyiv claimed another life.

Mr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine had been waiting nearly a month for Washington to approve critical missile supplies as Russia intensified attacks on energy facilities and civilian infrastructure.

A US soldier maintains an MIM-104 Patriot missile system, the army’s primary terminal-phase anti-ballistic missile defence, at an undisclosed location in the Middle East

The agreement follows Volodymyr Zelensky’s appeals for more Patriot missiles, which are central to Ukraine’s air defence

Despite the urgency, Ukraine is unlikely to receive the interceptors in the near term.

Arms agreements commonly take years to complete. Two people briefed on the US decision said the missiles have yet to be manufactured and are not expected to arrive until at least the early 2030s.

One source said Ukraine’s defence ministry was pressing the Pentagon to bring the schedule forward, potentially by transferring missiles already held in the US arsenal and replenishing those stocks with newly produced interceptors.

According to the State Department, funding will come from Canada, Germany and Norway through a programme known as US JUMPSTART, as well as national funds backed by the European Union’s Ukraine Support Loan.

The Pentagon describes JUMPSTART as a mechanism through which allied contributions pay for weapons, services and training to support Ukraine’s self-defence after Russia’s invasion.

In August, the programme was used to purchase 3,350 air-launched cruise missiles worth $825 million (£615.8 million) from Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire.

Lockheed Martin is the main contractor for the Patriot interceptor sale.

The US has supplied large volumes of weapons to allies while also using munitions in its own military operations in Iran, prompting concerns over inventories of key air-defence and precision-guided weapons.

In July, the US Army awarded Lockheed a contract worth up to $58.6 billion (£43.7 billion) to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles.

Lockheed said the agreement would help it deliver on a commitment to triple PAC-3 MSE production capacity by the end of 2030. It also plans to increase employment at its Camden, Arkansas, facility by 50 per cent, from 1,200 to around 1,850 workers.

The company has previously said annual production of Patriot PAC-3 interceptors would rise to 2,000 units.

Pentagon negotiators are pushing defence contractors to speed up production, with preliminary agreements reached earlier this year forming part of a broader effort to expand missile output.