The agreement would be one of the most important steps to supply Kiev with defense weapons since President Trump took office in 2025.
Published October 31, 2026
The United States announced it has approved the potential sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine for an estimated $2.1 billion.
The package of missiles, parts and aid announced by the US State Department on Friday is one of the most significant steps to provide defensive weapons to Kyiv since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.
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The Patriot system is the most effective weapon against fast-moving ballistic missiles.
But delays in missile deliveries have heightened tensions between the U.S. and Ukraine after President Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia and criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for refusing to stop attacks on Russian refineries.
Ukraine has long said it urgently needs more missile interceptors to stop the Russian military from increasing its missile launches into the country.
President Zelenskyy said on Monday that Kiev had been waiting for almost a month for the United States to agree to supply vital missiles, as Russia steps up attacks on Ukraine’s energy and civilian infrastructure.
A Russian drone strike killed at least 14 people on a crowded railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk on Thursday.
Officials said five people were killed in daytime attacks on two other cities, and one person was killed in an evening missile attack in the capital Kiev.
Delivery is years away
Despite Ukraine’s need for quick delivery of missiles, it is unlikely that Kiev will receive Patriot interceptor missiles any time soon. Weapons sales typically take several years to complete.
Two officials briefed on the U.S. decision said the missiles have not yet been manufactured and are not expected to be deployed until the 2030s.
The State Department said in a statement that Ukraine would pay for the missiles with state funds, including contributions from Canada, Germany and Norway through a U.S. program called JUMPSTART, and a European Union loan to support Ukraine.
US weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the sale of the Patriot interceptor.
In July, the U.S. Army awarded Lockheed a contract worth up to $58.6 billion to build the Patriot interceptor missile.
Lockheed said the deal will enable it to deliver on its promise to triple PAC-3 production capacity by the end of 2030. The company previously announced that production of the Patriot PAC-3 missile interceptor would reach 2,000 units per year.
Pentagon negotiators are pressuring weapons contractors to speed up production.
The U.S. military’s large supply of weapons to allies and use of its own heavy munitions for operations in Iran have raised concerns about its inventory of key air defense and precision-guided weapons.
