The United States has approved a possible sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 interceptors to Ukraine, worth an estimated $2.1 billion, the State Department announced on Friday, according to Euronews. Zelenskyy welcomed the decision but warned that deliveries could take years.
According to Al Jazeera, the package includes parts and support as well as the missiles. Euronews reports that Zelenskyy called the decision a "strong decision" and said 500 PAC-3 interceptors could form a highly effective defence package.
The timing of deliveries is disputed. Zelenskyy said deliveries may begin only in a few years, and asked US partners to find a solution for when Ukraine has an urgent need, according to Euronews. Al Jazeera reports that two people briefed on the US decision said the missiles, which have yet to be made, are not expected to be delivered until a couple of years into the 2030s. Neither source gives an official US timeline.
According to the State Department, Ukraine will pay with contributions from Canada, Germany and Norway through the US JUMPSTART programme, plus national funds financed by the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan, Al Jazeera reports.
The approval comes after delays that Zelenskyy has raised publicly. He said Kyiv had waited almost a month for US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriot and NASAMS systems, according to Euronews. Al Jazeera reports that the delays strained US-Ukraine relations after Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia and criticised Zelenskyy over attacks on Russian refineries. A Japan Times excerpt said the approval followed weeks of Ukrainian complaints that interceptor supplies were dwindling. Only a headline and short excerpt from Japan Times were available, so its full account could not be verified.
The key facts in this report rely mainly on Euronews and Al Jazeera. No response from the Pentagon, the Defence Department or Hegseth on the sale or the delivery timeline was reported. Lockheed Martin, the principal contractor, did not comment on the sale or the delivery schedule in the available reporting. No Russian government reaction was reported. The sources also do not confirm whether a strike on a Dnipro rail platform is directly linked to the approval.
Deliveries are expected years away, so Ukraine’s immediate winter air defence depends on whether the US and its partners find a faster solution, as Zelenskyy has requested. Separately, Lockheed Martin plans to triple PAC-3 production capacity by the end of 2030, a figure that was not attributed to a specific source in the available reporting.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.