US Approves Sale of 500 Patriot Missiles to Ukraine in $2.1 Billion Deal

The United States has approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, a critically needed munition for defence against escalating Russian aerial attacks, after Kyiv said deliveries had been delayed in recent months.

The US State Department said the advanced PAC-3 interceptor missiles would cost $2.1 billion and would be funded entirely by Kyiv's allies in Europe and Canada.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly urged the US to speed up deliveries of its Patriots, described as the only effective weapon for downing Russia's deadly ballistic missiles.

In Friday's statement, the State Department said the 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 department said Ukraine will pay for the purchase with donations from Canada, Germany and Norway via the JUMPSTART programme and national funds, financed by the European Union's Ukraine Support Loan. It said the principal contractor would be the American company Lockheed Martin, adding that no US funds are involved in the sale.

Zelensky said earlier this week that his country had been waiting almost a month for the US to sign off on critical missile supplies.

In a Telegram post late on Friday, the Ukrainian president reported that earlier in the day Russian ballistic missiles had struck two of the country's regions. "They continue to carry out terrorist strikes against our cities," he said.

Zelensky has recently admitted Ukraine was running critically low on Patriots, as Russia was intensifying its attacks on key energy infrastructure ahead of winter.

Kyiv desperately needs the interceptors, but there is a global shortage of the munitions due to their use by the US in its war against Iran, according to the report.

It is not clear what the production schedule will be for the Patriots, but the order is understood to be for new builds rather than existing missiles, meaning there is unlikely to be any rapid delivery to Ukraine. Patriots also have lengthy production times, with only 600 missiles produced per year according to the US Department of Defence.

The latest move comes just days after a row between Zelensky and Donald Trump, with the US president saying it was time for Ukraine to get a new leader to try to end the war with Russia.

In July, Trump said Washington had "not agreed" to license Ukraine to produce Patriots, three weeks after offering the country such a right.