&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "“We counted on them”: Zelensky says 20,000 US anti-drone missiles meant for Ukraine were diverted to Middle East by Trump admin")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that 20,000 anti-drone missiles originally meant for Ukraine were redirected by US President Donald Trump’s administration to American forces stationed in the Middle East.
Speaking to ABC News on 8 June, Zelensky confirmed that the missiles would have helped Ukraine defend against ongoing drone strikes from Russia, particularly Iranian-designed Shahed drones. On 1 June alone, Russia launched a record 472 drones in a single night.
“We counted on this project,” says Zelensky
“We have big problems with Shaheds… we will find all the tools to destroy them,” Zelensky said. “We counted on this project — 20,000 missiles. Anti-Shahed missiles. It was not expensive, but it’s a special technology,” he said.
He said the missile transfer plan was initially agreed with then-Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin under President Joe Biden’s administration.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
'War at speed of thought': If Claude AI can help kill a country's leader, do you really think your normal job is safe?
)
US Senate rejects war powers bill to stop attacks against Iran
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
’100,000 tons of warship’: Why sinking the USS Abraham Lincoln is Iran’s almost impossible dream
)
Flying at only 80 feet altitude, Iranian planes almost hit largest American air base in Middle East: Report
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
FACT CHECK: Benjamin Netanyahu assassinated in Iranian strike? Truth behind massive claim
)
FACT CHECK: Did Kurdish fighters really launch ground offensive in Iran?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
From Finn Allen to Virat Kohli, 5 batters with highest scores in T20 World Cup knockouts
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Baba Vanga's World War 3 and Nostradamus' 7-month global war prophecies return amid Iran-US conflict
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How deadly is Iran’s Fattah-2 hypersonic missile, and how can USS Abraham Lincoln’s air defence stop it?
US Pentagon cited ‘urgent’ need for redirection
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration reallocated the munitions, including special fuzes used in the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, for use by US troops in the Middle East. The Pentagon later told Congress in a classified message that the move was considered an “urgent issue” by current Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Trump halted Ukraine military aid after re-election
Since his return to office in January, Trump has blocked new military aid packages to Ukraine and has shown reluctance towards continuing assistance. Aid was only resumed after Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire proposal during peace talks held in Jeddah on 11 March.
Notably, Hegseth did not attend the recent Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting on 4 June, marking the first such absence by a US defence secretary since Russia’s full-scale invasion began.
Kyiv warns of intensified Russian drone threat
A source from Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent that Russia is preparing to launch over 500 long-range drones per night in upcoming strikes, as it boosts drone production and builds more launch sites.
In response, Kyiv is urging its Western allies to provide more air defence systems, including US-made Patriot batteries, and invest in Ukraine’s domestic weapons production.
