U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has yet to authorize the transfer of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s urgent need to strengthen its air defences against continued Russian attacks, The Washington Post reports, citing a U.S. official and three other sources familiar with the matter.
The delay reportedly concerns Washington’s approval requirements for transferring U.S.-made military equipment from third countries to Ukraine. This means that even when American allies are willing to supply Kyiv with Patriot missiles from their own stockpiles, deliveries cannot proceed without U.S. authorization.
Patriot systems are among Ukraine’s most important air-defence capabilities, particularly for intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. Delays in replenishing supplies raise further concerns as Russia continues its aerial and missile attacks.
Zelenskyy: U.S. decisions are difficult to explain
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed frustration with Washington’s position during a meeting with a U.S. congressional delegation on Monday, October 19, describing American decisions concerning the war as “difficult to explain.”
Tensions have grown further after Trump challenged Zelenskyy’s handling of efforts to end the war. Responding to the Ukrainian president’s claim that Trump was on the “wrong side of history,” the U.S. president said: “Zelenskyy doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Trump argued that Ukraine should have ended the war much earlier and claimed that following his advice could have secured a better deal for Kyiv.
“Maybe it’s time for Zelenskyy to find someone else to negotiate,” Trump said.
He also criticized the cost of U.S. assistance to Ukraine, claiming Washington had provided Kyiv with hundreds of billions of dollars without receiving anything in return. Trump offered no specific evidence to substantiate his estimates of the war’s costs and casualties.
The reported delay in Patriot missile transfers, combined with Trump’s increasingly confrontational rhetoric, raises fresh questions about the future of U.S. military support for Ukraine as Kyiv continues to defend itself against Russia’s invasion.
