30 days without US sign-off on Ukraine's Patriot missiles

Ukraine is waiting for nearly a month for the United States to approve a shipment of air defense missiles, a delay that has intensified as Russian strikes target the country's power grid and civilian buildings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the hold on Monday. He stated that his administration has been waiting for almost 30 days for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to sign the order for Patriot and NASAMS systems. Zelensky said he instructed his team to raise the issue with the American side again.

The missiles are part of a program called PURL, where NATO allies purchase weapons for Ukraine. Zelensky has urged Washington to move these deliveries faster before winter arrives. Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted that a batch of interceptors had not arrived. He told reporters the delay was not for political reasons.

The wait for hardware adds to friction between Kyiv and Washington. President Donald Trump recently announced a diesel deal with Russia. He also criticized Zelensky for not stopping Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. These moves have complicated the relationship between the two leaders.

Ukraine has also reported operational headaches in recent weeks. The country said it experienced gaps in receiving intelligence from the US about incoming Russian missiles. Additionally, military-grade Starlink services were throttled for several days, which disrupted air defense operations. Reuters reported that the order to limit Starshield came from the White House. Elon Musk and US officials have publicly disputed who made that decision.