Zelensky says US interceptor approval has stalled for nearly a month
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said US approval for Patriot and NASAMS interceptor deliveries has been awaiting a signature for almost a month. He instructed officials to raise air defence supplies again with Washington. His account concerns an outstanding approval, not confirmation that the United States has permanently stopped deliveries.
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Zelensky says US approval remains pending
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 26 that Ukraine had waited nearly a month for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to approve interceptor deliveries for Patriot and NASAMS air defence systems. The Kyiv Independent and European Pravda both reported his account. Zelensky said he had asked his team to raise the matter again with the American side. His statement describes a pending approval; it does not establish that every shipment has stopped or establish Washington’s intent.[1], [2]
The role of interceptors
The Kyiv Independent reported that the delayed missiles had already been paid for by Ukraine’s allies. Ukraine uses Patriot systems to intercept Russian ballistic missiles, which are particularly difficult to stop. A senior Ukrainian military official told the paper that interceptors arrive through several channels, including NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List. Under that mechanism, allies fund purchases of US weapons. The paper also cited an official who described the batch awaiting approval as significant, without providing its size.[1]
Zelensky has said the United States delivers only 12 Patriot interceptors a month, according to the Kyiv Independent. European Pravda also reported his account in an ABC News interview that Ukraine had received 24 Patriot interceptors from the United States over the previous three months. Both figures describe supplies as Zelensky presented them; they cover different periods. They do not specify the number of missiles in the batch awaiting approval.[1], [2]
The next discussion
European Pravda reported that Zelensky raised air defence supplies in a meeting with the defence and foreign ministers and the commander-in-chief. He said Ukraine was working with the United States, European countries and other partners that hold PAC-2 and PAC-3 stocks. The officials also discussed preparations for a November meeting in the Ramstein format. The Kyiv Independent described Ukrainian officials’ interpretation of the delays as political pressure; that assessment belongs to those officials and is not independent proof of the US government’s motive.[1], [2]
The Kyiv Independent also reported disruptions to Ukraine’s early-warning systems for incoming Russian ballistic missiles, which rely on US intelligence. It said American officials had attributed earlier outages to bad weather. Ukrainian officials described the delays and disruptions as political pressure. Those are competing accounts of the disruption and its significance; neither establishes why Hegseth’s approval remains outstanding.[1]
