Zelensky: Ukraine has waited 30 days for Pentagon missile sign-off

Ukraine has spent nearly 30 days waiting for the United States to authorize a critical shipment of air defense interceptors, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a post on X on Monday, Zelensky stated that he had been waiting for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriot and NASAMS systems. The Ukrainian leader said he instructed his team to raise the issue with American counterparts again. The delay comes as Russia increases its attacks on Ukrainian energy and civilian infrastructure.

The United States supplies these missiles through a program called PURL, which allows NATO allies to purchase weapons for Ukraine. Zelensky has repeatedly urged Washington to speed up deliveries before winter arrives. Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that a batch of interceptors had not been delivered. He said the delay was not for political reasons.

The stalled approval adds to recent friction between Kyiv and Washington. President Donald Trump recently announced a diesel deal with Russia. He also criticized Zelensky for Ukraine’s refusal to stop attacks on Russian refineries.

Ukraine has faced other operational hurdles in recent weeks. Kyiv reported gaps in receiving intelligence from the US on Russian missile attacks. It also said that military Starlink service had been throttled for days, which disrupted air defense operations. Reuters reported that the order to throttle the Starshield network came from the White House. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and US officials have both publicly stated that only the other party could have made the decision.