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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press briefing on Oct. 28. He has repeatedly called on the U.S., which supplies missiles purchased by NATO allies, to speed up deliveries ahead of winter.REMKO DE WAAL/AFP/Getty Images
The U.S. State Department said on Friday it had approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine for an estimated US$2.1-billion, in what would be one of the most significant steps to supply defensive weapons to Kyiv since the start of the second Trump administration.
Ukraine will pay for the interceptor missiles with contributions from Canada, Germany and Norway routed through a program called U.S. JUMPSTART, along with national funds financed by the European Union’s Ukraine Support Loan, the State Department said in a statement.
The program uses donations from allies to buy weapons, services and training for Ukraine to support its self-defence following Russia’s invasion, according to a Pentagon website.
Ukraine has long said it urgently needs more missile interceptors to knock down the growing waves of missiles Russia’s military fires at the country. The Patriot missile system is the most effective weapon to counter fast-moving ballistic missiles.
On Thursday, a Russian drone strike killed at least 14 people on a crowded rail platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, while five died in daytime strikes on two other provincial cities and a late-evening missile strike killed one person in the capital Kyiv, officials said.
Delayed missile deliveries have added to Ukraine’s tensions with the U.S. after President Donald Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia and criticized Zelensky for Ukraine’s unwillingness to stop attacks on Russian refineries.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that Ukraine had been waiting for almost a month for the U.S. to sign off on critical missile supplies, as Russia stepped up attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine will not receive the missile interceptors quickly.
Weapons sales typically take years to fulfill, but given Ukraine’s urgent need for defensive weapons these Patriot missiles may move to Kyiv on a faster timeline.
The JUMPSTART program was used in August to buy 3,350 air-launched cruise missiles worth US$825-million made by Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire.
Lockheed Martin is the principal contractor for the sale of the Patriot interceptors.
The U.S. has supplied large quantities of weapons to allies while also using munitions in its own military operations in Iran, raising concerns about inventories of key air defence and precision-guided weapons.
In July, the U.S. Army awarded Lockheed a contract worth up to US$58.6-billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.
Lockheed has said that deal would allow it to follow through on a promise to triple PAC-3 MSE production capacity by the end of 2030 and increase jobs at its Camden, Arkansas, plant by 50 per cent, to about 1,850 from 1,200. Lockheed previously announced Patriot PAC-3 missile interceptor production would go to 2,000 units annually.
Pentagon negotiators are pressing contractors to move much faster, with tentative production agreements struck earlier this year at the centre of efforts to increase missile output.