US approves sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, but Zelensky warns deliveries could take ‘FEW YEARS’

The Trump administration on Friday (Oct 30) green-lit the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, the State Department said. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has, however, warned that the deliveries could take years. The approval, which goes to Congress for review, comes after weeks of complaints by Ukrainian authorities that its supplies of the interceptor missiles were dwindling.

"The proposed sale will improve Ukraine's capability to meet current and future threats by improving its integrated air and missile defense capabilities," the department said in a statement.

Notably, the statement did not provide an estimate for when the weapons could be delivered to Ukraine. The State Department said the weapons sale would be paid for with donations from Ukraine's allies but not with US funds.

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Zelensky says delivery won't begin for years

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a X post late on Friday noted that "deliveries may begin ONLY IN A FEW YEARS."

"We are asking our American partners to find a solution for the time when there is a real danger and a real need to use PAC-3 interceptors," Zelensky said, using an acronym for the weapons.

The Ukrainian leader suggested that the US and European allies could, for now, give his country missiles they have stockpiled. This, he said, could later be replenished by this new purchase.

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Patriot missiles are among the most important weapons Ukraine has to intercept Russian drones and missiles.

Calling Ukraine a "force for political and economic stability in Europe," the State Department said the sale would support objectives of the US.

"This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political and economic stability in Europe".

A backdrop of tensions

US-Ukraine tensions spiked earlier this month after Washington struck a diesel fuel deal with Russia. Ukraine also said that the US was slowing its access to satellite internet services and had stopped some intelligence sharing.

On October 15, US President Donald Trump, during an interview, even commented that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was "not a good guy for us to deal with" and claimed that he does not want to help bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. He claimed that the Ukrainian president "doesn't want to settle" the ongoing war with Russia. "If they're going to end up with a settlement of some kind, they're not going to do it with him. He doesn't want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn't."

Tensions between the allies eased somewhat after Zelensky held talks with US envoys in Oslo on October 20.