Zelenskyy accuses US government of delaying paid interceptor missile deliveries

Wolodymyr Selenskyj, President of Ukraine. Source: Michael Kappeler/dpa

It almost seems as though Donald Trump wants to decide the Ukraine war in Putin's favor. Wolodymyr Selenskyj accuses him of delaying the delivery of paid defensive missiles. Possible meeting in Norway.

Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj has accused the US government of delaying the delivery of paid interceptor missiles. The missiles had already been "paid for" by the European side under the PURL program, Selenskyj said before US senators. Through the so-called PURL mechanism, NATO countries and their allies can purchase weapons packages for Ukraine in the US. A delivery still requires the signature of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Selenskyj said.

In addition, European states willing to supply Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine from their own stockpiles are waiting for authorization from the US, Selenskyj said. "The missiles are ready for use. They could already be in Ukraine. (...) But unfortunately, the authorization has still not been granted," Selenskyj said, according to the Ukrainian Presidential Office. "All of this suggests that a political decision has been made to slow down support for us," Selenskyj continued.

On Sunday, Selenskyj had spoken with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the delivery of Patriot air defense systems. Ukraine is increasingly struggling to repel Russian missiles and has been hit at sensitive infrastructure points for days.

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Selenskyj had complained that the Ukrainian army had no access to US intelligence information for "three days" during Russian attacks with ballistic missiles, which weakened his country. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected these accusations.

Now Selenskyj complained that Starlink, a satellite communications service important for the army, is functioning at several front sections only at throttled speed. Last week, Ukraine accused the US of deliberately throttling the speed of tech entrepreneur Elon Musk's service after US President Donald Trump expressed annoyance over Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.

"All speed limitations are decided by the US military"

The US government denied that the president had ordered the throttling. Musk, however, had blamed the Trump administration. "All limitations on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately by the POTUS, the President of the United States," he explained.

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Critics have long accused Trump of pursuing a Russia-friendly course in the Ukraine war. On Friday, the US president had suspended already-decided sanctions against Russia shortly before they were due to take effect. The reversal came only a week after he concluded a controversial agreement with Putin on the delivery of Russian diesel – and just over two weeks before the congressional elections in the US. In the so-called midterms on November 3, Trump's Republicans are under pressure because of rising living costs and especially high fuel prices as a result of the Iran war.

According to insiders, Kushner and Witkoff are to travel to Norway this week for a new round of negotiations on ending the war. Selenskyj is also expected to participate. After all, Trump recently accused Selenskyj of fundamentally refusing peace talks with Russia. The Ukrainian head of state should perhaps "let someone else negotiate," Trump said on Monday.

AFP/reu/fro