The United States has approved the sale of 500 advanced Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles to Ukraine, a $2.1bn (£1.6bn) package intended to strengthen the country’s defences as Russia intensifies its strikes on cities and energy infrastructure, according to BBC News.
The State Department said the missiles would be paid for entirely by Ukraine’s European and Canadian partners, with donations from Canada, Germany and Norway channelled through the JUMPSTART programme and national funds supported by the European Union’s Ukraine Support Loan. Lockheed Martin, the American defence company, is named as the principal contractor. No direct US government money will be used.
For Ukraine, the announcement brings relief but not immediate safety. President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the decision, yet warned that the missiles may take “several years” to arrive. Kyiv has been waiting almost a month for Washington to approve supplies it says are critically low, while Russian attacks on the power grid have increased sharply ahead of winter.
Patriot systems are among the few weapons capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. But production is slow: the US Department of Defence reportedly builds only about 600 of the interceptors each year, and global demand has risen. The new order is believed to consist of newly manufactured missiles rather than existing stock, making rapid delivery unlikely.
The approval follows a period of tension between Kyiv and Washington. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump suggested Ukraine needed new leadership to reach a deal ending the war, after the US eased some sanctions on Russia in an agreement connected to Russian diesel. Relations appeared to improve after Zelensky met US envoys in Oslo on 20 October.
At the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta, European diplomats showed their anger at Russia’s presence by refusing to join an official photograph with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told him directly: “We all know who the aggressor in this war is.”
For Ukrainians facing another winter under attack, the Patriot deal is a promise of protection but one that may arrive too slowly.
