KYIV — 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, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

"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, in the remarks reported by Reuters.

Source: Reuters quoting Zelenskiy on X, Oct 26

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, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

Nearly a monthHow long Zelenskiy says Ukraine has waited for the US defence secretary to sign off on Patriot and NASAMS missiles (Reuters)
PURLThe programme under which NATO allies purchase US-supplied missiles for Ukraine (Reuters)
Ahead of winterThe deadline Zelenskiy cites for speeding up air-defence deliveries as Russia steps up energy attacks (Reuters)

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, Reuters reported. Those refinery attacks and the diesel deal are the two governments' stated positions and actions as reported by Reuters, presented here as such.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

Intelligence and Starlink frictions in the background

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 reported.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

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 — a disputed account, reported here as the two sides' conflicting claims, not as settled fact.

Source: Reuters, Oct 26

What is solid

  • Zelenskiy said on X on Oct 26 that Ukraine has waited nearly a month for Defence Secretary Hegseth to sign off on Patriot and NASAMS missiles and that he instructed his team to raise it again with the US (Reuters)
  • Rubio acknowledged last week that a batch of interceptors may not have been delivered and said the delay was not for political reasons; the missiles are US-supplied and purchased by NATO allies under PURL (Reuters)

What is only claimed

  • Who ordered the throttling of Starlink's military service — Reuters reported the order came from inside the White House, while Musk and US officials have each publicly said such decisions could only have been taken by the other side