Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Kyiv has been waiting close to a month for the US defense secretary to approve deliveries of vital missiles, even as Russia steps up attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure.
Writing on X, Zelensky said: "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 Ukrainian leader has repeatedly urged Washington to speed up shipments before winter arrives. The United States supplies missiles that NATO allies pay for under a program known as PURL.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio conceded that a batch of interceptors may not have been delivered. He insisted, however, that the delay was not driven by political considerations.
The holdup comes as relations between Kyiv and Washington face added strain. US President Donald Trump recently announced a diesel deal with Russia, and he has criticized Zelensky over Ukraine's refusal to halt its attacks on Russian refineries.
Ukraine has also raised concerns about other forms of American support. In recent weeks, Kyiv said it experienced gaps at some point in receiving US intelligence about Russian missile attacks.
Ukrainian officials further reported that the military version of Starlink had been throttled for days, which disrupted military operations and air defenses.
Reuters has reported that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and US officials have each said publicly that any decisions to limit Starlink and Starshield could only have been made by the other side.
