Ukraine has been waiting nearly a month for Hegset to sign off on the missiles for the Patriot and NASAMS systems

Ukraine has been waiting for nearly a month for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hagseth to sign off on the delivery of missiles for the Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed officials to revisit this issue with the U.S. side.

At the same time, Kyiv is negotiating with European and other partners who have the necessary missiles to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense.

 

“We are working on several fronts: with the United States, Europe, and other partners who have stockpiles of PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles. In particular, we have been waiting for nearly a month for Mr. Hegset to sign off on missiles for the ‘Patriots’ and ‘Nasams.’ I have instructed officials to discuss this once again with the U.S. side. Discussions are also ongoing with other countries,” Zelenskyy stated.

Separately, during the conference call, preparations were discussed for the next meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine’s Defense in the “Ramstein” format, scheduled for November.

The President emphasized the need to expedite the implementation of decisions regarding military support that have been pending for some time.

“Every support package is an opportunity to protect people’s lives,” the head of state noted.

During the conference call, participants also heard a report from Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi on work in the regions and the restoration of energy infrastructure following Russian attacks.

Zelenskyy thanked the repair crews and energy companies working to restore damaged facilities. According to him, work is proceeding almost without interruption, and equipment reserves have been mobilized for the repairs.

The president instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Energy, and other relevant agencies to ensure timely communication regarding the replenishment of equipment stocks.

Earlier, Ignat stated that the Patriot missiles used in the Middle East could have lasted Ukraine for years.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is asking Sweden for assistance with missiles for the Patriot and IRIS-T systems.

For its part, Russia may intensify its ballistic missile strikes while Ukraine waits for the Patriot missiles.

Against this backdrop, Poland has refused to transfer missiles for the Patriot systems to Ukraine.