KYIV, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Ukraine has been waiting for almost a month for the US defence secretary to sign off on critical missile supplies, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday, as Russia stepped up attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure.
“In particular, we have been waiting for nearly a month for Mr Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriots and NASAMS. I instructed our team to raise this with the American side once again,” Zelenskiy said on X.
The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly called on the US, which supplies missiles purchased by NATO allies under a program known as PURL, to speed up deliveries ahead of winter.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that a batch of interceptors may not have been delivered, but said that the delay was not for political reasons.
Delayed missile deliveries are adding to Ukraine’s tensions with the US after President Donald Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia and criticised Zelenskiy for Ukraine’s unwillingness to stop attacks on Russian refineries.
In recent weeks, Ukraine said that at some point it experienced gaps in getting intelligence from the US on Russian missile attacks. It also reported that Starlink’s military version has been throttled for days, disrupting military operations and air defences.
Reuters has reported that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House. Both SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and US officials have said publicly that any decisions on Starlink and Starshield limitations could only have been taken by the other.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
