‘Nearly a Month’: Zelensky Presses US Over Delayed Missile Deliveries

Ukraine will again raise the issue of delayed air defense missile deliveries with the US, as Kyiv has been waiting nearly a month for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s signature on missiles for Patriot and NASAMS systems, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, Oct. 26.“We have been waiting for nearly a month for Mr. Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriots and NASAMS,” Zelensky said in a statement posted on X, following a conference call on arms supplies and the restoration of Ukraine’s energy sector after Russian strikes.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“I instructed our team to raise this with the American side once again,” he said.Ukraine is pursuing several avenues to secure additional air defense interceptors, Zelensky said, including negotiations with the US, European countries, and other partners holding stocks of PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles.“Conversations with other countries are also ongoing,” he added.The conference call also addressed efforts to repair energy infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal briefed officials on the situation in the regions, while Zelensky praised repair crews and energy companies for continuing their work.“I thank every repair crew and all energy companies that are fully carrying out their assigned tasks,” Zelensky said. “The work is continuing virtually nonstop, and we are using the equipment reserves we have built up.” Other Topics of Interest Russia May Seek NATO Rollback to 1997 in Ukraine Talks Diplomatic sources told The Telegraph that Moscow could use renewed negotiations to seek limits on NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe. The president said he expected relevant government agencies to provide timely updates on replenishing those reserves.“I expect the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Energy, and other agencies involved to communicate in a timely and sufficient manner the need to replenish these reserves,” he said.Officials also discussed preparations for the next meeting in the Ramstein format, scheduled for November.“It is important to speed up the implementation of decisions that have been on the table for some time,” Zelensky said.“Every support package is an opportunity to protect people’s lives,” he added, thanking Ukraine’s partners for their assistance and efforts to speed up deliveries of critical supplies.Patriot missilesUkraine could have had enough Patriot air defense missiles to sustain its systems for several years if more interceptors had not been expended in the Middle East, Yuriy Ihnat, head of the Communications Department of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said on the RBC-Ukraine podcast.Ihnat revealed that Ukrainian forces have developed tactics for using the US-made systems more efficiently during Russia’s full-scale invasion.Unlike crews that keep Patriots at fixed positions, Ukrainian operators can set up ambushes, engage targets, and quickly relocate to avoid detection.Ukrainian crews have also learned to conserve expensive interceptors, typically using one missile per target. By contrast, air defense forces in the Middle East have reportedly fired as many as eight missiles at a single target, including relatively cheap Shahed drones.A senior Ukrainian Air Force officer previously told The Times that Gulf forces were using excessive numbers of interceptors and that Ukraine’s battlefield experience had not been fully incorporated despite Kyiv sharing operational data with allies.Ukraine’s missile shortages remain acute. Earlier, Zelensky said Ukraine received just 24 Patriot interceptors from the US over 90 days, despite needing around 350 per month to counter Russian ballistic attacks.He has requested 300 interceptors from European partners for the winter, but efforts to secure missiles from existing European stockpiles have faced resistance, including from Greece. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.