Ukraine has a significant shortage not only of missiles for Patriot, but also for NASAMS systems. These interceptors are also part of a package paid for by Europeans that was expected from the United States, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a meeting with journalists on 27 October.
The United States has partially delivered supplies under the PURL programme. This programme covers various weapons: 20mm rounds for F-16s, HIMARS, as well as Patriots and AIM missiles.
“We buy a lot from the United States. Europe paid, everything arrived, and everything was fine. But in some cases, especially with Patriots, it is a major challenge. Twelve missiles a month, on average — that is what we are receiving in 2026,” he said.
However, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has not yet signed some of the delivery documents.
“So, there are some documents on Secretary Hegseth’s desk that he has signed, and perhaps he thinks he has signed everything, but that is not the case. That is because there is a package from the United States with 12 missiles, and he signed it. Great. But I used 35 this month. And the issue is the 23 that I found in other areas. When we spoke with President Trump in New York, I asked him: ‘Give me a winter package.’ I told him: ‘I need this package. Please approve this package now.’ I named the number of missiles and said that if you give them to me, we will not strike any refineries. And he asked me where to get them. And I told him which countries have them. And he said they would do everything they could, but they need missiles because they do not have very many themselves,” the president said.
Commenting on US military assistance, Zelenskyy added that intelligence sharing has resumed. Ukraine is grateful to President Donald Trump, the military, and everyone who helped.
Context
This month, amid intensified US pressure on Ukraine, Ukraine did not receive early warning during several ballistic attacks. Restrictions on the speed of Starlink use also began. As a result, Ukraine lost the ability to shoot down jet-powered interceptor drones and to carry out some operations against the enemy in occupied territory. Zelenskyy stressed that Starlink was not used for deep strikes on Russia.
In the United States, officials denied that they had deliberately stopped sharing intelligence. Rubio said the reason was technical problems.
However, there have been previous instances of intelligence sharing being halted amid worsening relations between Kyiv and Washington — last year.