USA Did Not Include Missiles for Patriot System in the $400 Million Aid Package for Ukraine — Reuters

The United States did not include interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense systems in the $400 million military aid package for Ukraine.

This was reported by Reuters, citing a source familiar with the plan.

The PAC-3 anti-aircraft missiles used in these air defense systems are essential for Ukraine to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles and hypersonic Zircons.

“One of the sources clarified that the military equipment did not include Patriot missiles, despite the fact that Russia is bombing Ukrainian cities with drones and ballistic missiles,” the news agency noted.

Overall, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump plans to contract all $400 million that Congress approved for military aid to Ukraine by the end of fiscal year 2026.

As of the beginning of this week, the administration had already committed $307 million of the $400 million provided for under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). It plans to commit the remaining $93 million by September 30.

The first deliveries, which include offensive weapons and equipment—specifically spare parts for armored vehicles—began this month. The remainder, according to sources, is scheduled to be delivered by October 2029.

Patriot missiles for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced yesterday that Donald Trump had finally approved the transfer of licenses to Ukraine for the production of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems.

However, he did not specify when production might begin or which types of missiles the license would cover.

Washington’s position on this issue had changed several times previously. On July 31, Trump stated that the U.S. had not yet made a decision regarding the transfer of a license to Ukraine, explaining this by the need to exercise caution regarding the transfer of Patriot technology.

In early September, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reported that negotiations between Washington and Kyiv regarding the licenses were still ongoing. He also noted that even after receiving approval, it could take several years to ramp up production.

Ukraine is not relying solely on future domestic production. Kyiv is negotiating regular deliveries of interceptor missiles with various countries that have them in their arsenals.