The Trump administration approved the proposed sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine on Friday, the State Department said, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that deliveries could take years.
The approval goes to Congress for review after weeks of complaints from Ukrainian authorities that their interceptor supplies were dwindling. The State Department said the sale would be funded by donations from Ukraine’s allies, not U.S. funds.
Zelensky said in a post on X that deliveries might not begin for a few years. He suggested that the United States and European allies provide missiles from their existing stocks, which could later be replenished through the purchase.
The State Department did not give an estimated delivery date. It said the proposed sale would strengthen Ukraine’s integrated air and missile defenses against current and future threats.