Even as the United States (US) continue pushing for talks and ending hostilities between Ukraine and Russia, the Trump administration has approved a proposed sale of 500 Patriot air defence interceptors to Kyiv for an estimated USD 2.1 billion, the State Department said on Friday (local time).
Ukraine would purchase these Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles with donations it receives from Canada, Germany, and Norway under the JUMPSTART programme and national funds. The State Department clarified that no US funds are involved in this sale.
This sale, the State Department said, will help in improving the security of Ukraine, a partner country, which would eventually support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the US.
It also underlined that the implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional US government or contractor representatives to Ukraine, and there will be no adverse impact on American defence readiness.
“The proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its integrated air and missile defense capabilities,” the State Department said in its release. “This proposed sale will sustain existing PATRIOT system operations against ongoing aerial threats. Ukraine will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.”
“The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin, located in Bethesda, MD. At this time, the U.S. Government is not aware of any offset agreement proposed in connection with this potential sale. Any offset agreement will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and the contractor,” it added.
Zelenskyy hails proposed sale, but seeks immediate delivery
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hailed the proposed sale and said it would help Kyiv in intercepting Moscow’s ballistic missiles in an effective way. Though he underlined that deliveries would begin in a “few years”, urging the Americans to “find a solution precisely when there is real danger and a real need to employ PAC-3.”
In a long post on X, he said the Russians regularly target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, calling out the Americans to provide Kyiv with a winter support package. He, however, pointed out that 500 missiles would be enough to cover Ukraine’s skies.
He also thanked Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying Ukraine is grateful to the US for the approval.
“The United States, European partners, and other partners around the world have sufficient stockpiles of PAC-3 interceptors in their warehouses. Providing them to Ukraine right now, in the winter of 2026โ2027, and THEN replenishing the partners’ arsenals in SUBSEQUENT YEARS thanks to this contracted and paid-for production by Ukraine and its partners โ that would be the right path, and it’s entirely feasible,” he said.
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