Ukraine is seeking additional Patriot missiles and broader political backing in Washington as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy adapts Kyiv’s outreach after U.S. midterm voters put Democrats in control of Congress.
In a Thursday interview with Ukrainian television channel TSN, Zelenskiy said Kyiv needed to strengthen ties across both parties and move quickly under the new congressional balance. Zelenskiy said Ukraine needed to recover $16 billion in U.S. assistance he said Washington had promised but not delivered, and believed support could increase.
For Kyiv, Patriot missile availability is now the leading defense priority, Zelenskiy said. “If we don’t solve the Patriot problem, it will get very tough for us,” he said, adding that the United States, European countries and others could help.
The U.S. Department of State said it approved a sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine, estimated at $2.1 billion. Reuters reported that the missiles were not expected to reach Ukraine until the early 2030s. Zelenskiy also said Ukraine wanted an adequate number of F-16 jets in service over the next five-to-six-month span.
Ukraine faces another winter amid Russian strikes on its energy sector, Zelenskiy said, describing the situation in Kyiv as “the most difficult.” He has previously raised missile-alert gaps and delayed weapons supplies with U.S. lawmakers.
Zelenskiy said representatives of the European Union, NATO and the United States had made headway in Brussels this week on security arrangements for after the conflict. U.S. envoy Jared Kushner called the discussions “productive and substantive” in a post on X.
Abu Dhabi is due to host the next round of U.S.-led Ukraine-Russia talks next week, Reuters reported.
