WASHINGTON: The Trump administration on Friday green-lit the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, the State Department said, but the Ukrainian president warned deliveries could take years.
The approval, which goes to Congress for review, comes after weeks of complaints by Ukrainian authorities that its supplies of the interceptor missiles were dwindling.
"The proposed sale will improve Ukraine's capability to meet current and future threats by improving its integrated air and missile defense capabilities," the department said in a statement.
The statement did not provide an estimate for when the weapons could be delivered to Ukraine.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Friday in a post on X 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," Zelensky said, using an acronym for the weapons.
The Ukrainian leader suggested that the US and European allies could give his country missiles they have stockpiled now, which would later be replenished by this new purchase.
Patriot missiles are among the most important weapons Ukraine has to intercept Russian drones and missiles.
"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," the State Department said.
US-Ukraine tensions spiked earlier this month after Washington struck a diesel fuel deal with Russia. Ukraine also said that the US was slowing its access to satellite internet services and had stopped some intelligence sharing.
Tensions eased after Zelensky held talks with US envoys in Oslo on October 20.
The State Department said the weapons sale would be paid for with by donations from Ukraine's allies but not with US funds. - AFP
