Zelenskyy: Waiting a month for air defense supplies from the US

 

TT

 

Published 14:38 | Updated 15:49

 

A summit regarding the war, involving Ukraine and the US, held in Palm Beach, Florida, last December. Photo: Alex Brandon/AP/TT

Ukraine has been waiting “nearly a month” for missiles for its American-supplied Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy states.

“We are working along several tracks—with the US, Europe, and other partners who hold stockpiles of missiles for the Patriot system,” the Ukrainian president writes on X, adding:

“In particular, we have been waiting for nearly a month for [US Secretary of Defense] Mr. Hegseth to approve the provision of missiles for Patriot and NASAMS systems.”

In another post on X, he notes that “things are moving very slowly.”

“Slower than Russian missiles fly. You cannot simply say, ‘Yes, we will provide the missiles,’ and then fail to deliver them for a month or two. That is not how it works.”

Over the past three months, Ukraine has received 24 Patriot missiles from the US—whereas they require an average of 350 per month, Zelenskyy told ABC News on Friday.