The United States has approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, which are considered essential for defending the country against increasingly intensified Russian air attacks.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that delivery of the missiles could take “several years”, the BBC reports, as reported by RKS News.
The US State Department confirmed that the deal involves advanced PAC-3 interceptor missiles, valued at $2.1 billion. According to the announcement, the purchase will be fully financed by Ukraine’s European allies and Canada.
On Friday evening, Zelenskyy renewed his calls for the United States to accelerate the delivery of Patriot systems, which are among the few weapons capable of effectively intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
The decision comes amid tensions between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump earlier this month, after Washington eased sanctions on Russia as part of an agreement aimed at securing Russian diesel supplies.
Trump had stated that it was time for Ukraine to have a new leader in order to reach an agreement to end the war with Russia. Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, after previously annexing Crimea and taking control of parts of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
Tensions between the two sides eased following Zelenskyy’s meeting with US envoys in Oslo on October 20.
In Friday’s statement, the US State Department said the proposed sale would advance American foreign policy and national security objectives by strengthening the security of a partner country that contributes to political and economic stability in Europe.
According to the announcement, Ukraine will finance the purchase through donations from Canada, Germany and Norway under the JUMPSTART programme, as well as national funds backed by the European Union’s loan facility for supporting Ukraine.
US defence company Lockheed Martin will serve as the main contractor for the agreement, while the State Department emphasised that no American funds would be used to finance the sale.
Meanwhile, at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, European diplomats protested against the participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by refusing to join the official group photograph.
The meeting is being held in Atlanta and is hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“I want to say directly to the Russian Foreign Minister: We all know who the aggressor in this war is,” British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Lavrov during the meeting, accusing the Russian government of killing innocent civilians in Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had been waiting nearly a month for US approval to receive the missiles, as its existing stockpiles of this ammunition were being significantly depleted.
