KYIV, Oct 26 - Ukraine's president said on Monday that Kyiv has been waiting nearly a month for a US defence official to sign off on critical missile supplies, as the country faces increased Russian strikes 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," the president said on X.
The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly urged the United States to accelerate deliveries of missiles that are purchased by NATO allies under a program known as PURL, stressing the need to bolster air defences 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. The delayed missile deliveries have contributed to mounting tensions between Kyiv and Washington after a separate development in which President Donald Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia and criticised Ukraine for not halting attacks on Russian refineries.
Ukraine has also reported operational disruptions in recent weeks. Officials said there were moments when they experienced gaps in receiving intelligence from the United States about Russian missile attacks. Separately, Kyiv reported that the military version of Starlink - Starshield - was throttled for several days, a restriction that disrupted military operations and air defence activity.
According to reports, the order to throttle Starshield originated from inside the White House. Public statements from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and US officials said that any decisions to limit Starlink and Starshield could only have been taken by the other, reflecting conflicting public accounts about responsibility for the restrictions.
These developments - delays in interceptor deliveries, intermittent intelligence gaps, and throttling of a military communications system - are occurring while Russia increases strikes on energy and civilian targets, a dynamic Kyiv says heightens urgency for accelerated defensive support.
Context and implications
The president's statement highlights a series of operational and diplomatic frictions affecting Ukraine's air defences and communications. Kyiv's appeal for faster deliveries of interceptors under the PURL program underscores a perceived need to reinforce defensive systems in the face of intensified attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure.
Officials in Washington and representatives of related commercial providers have publicly disagreed over who authorised limitations on satellite-based military communications, adding to confusion around the operational constraints reportedly experienced by Ukrainian forces.
What remains unclear - The timeline for sign-off on the missile shipments is not specified beyond the near-month delay mentioned by the president. The precise operational impact of the reported intelligence gaps and the full scope of disruptions caused by the Starshield throttling are described as having affected military operations, but detailed operational assessments were not provided.
Reporting available at the time of the president's remarks formed the basis for these accounts; some details remain limited to official statements and public comments from the parties involved.