The administration of Donald Trump announced on Friday that it had formally approved a proposed sale of Patriot air-defense missiles to Ukraine valued at $2.1 billion. The decision followed accusations by the Ukrainian government that the U.S. Department of War had deliberately delayed delivery of this vital weapon, which is needed to defend against Russian ballistic missile attacks.
The U.S. State Department said 500 Patriot missiles had been ordered for Ukraine through a U.S. arms sales program, using funding provided by Canada, Germany and Norway, without spending a single cent of American taxpayers’ money.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that his country was close to running out of this vital munition as it faced intense Russian attacks. He directly accused the U.S. Department of War of delaying delivery of missiles for which other countries had already raised funds for Ukraine. Text: Rithy
