Ukraine war: Volodymyr Zelensky accuses US of blockade of paid missile supplies
Ukraine urgently needs interceptor missiles to defend itself against Russian continuous fire. But according to Kyiv, the US refuses to release. President Trump, meanwhile, laments a lack of consideration.
German and Ukrainian soldiers in front of Patriot weapons systems (on 11 June 2024)
The relationship between the US and Ukraine continues to deteriorate – while Russia continues its attacks on the Eastern European country unabated. In order to defend itself against these attacks, Ukraine is dependent on arms supplies from its allies. And this is exactly where things are missing, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, at the moment.
He accuses the US government of a delayed delivery of paid interceptor missiles. The missiles were “already paid” by the European side as part of the Purl program, Zelensky said Monday in front of US senators.
Through the so-called Purl mechanism, NATO countries and their allies can buy weapons packages for Ukraine in the USA. For a delivery is still the signature of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said Zelensky.
In addition, European states that are ready to supply Patriot interceptor missiles from their stockpiles to Ukraine are waiting for approval from the United States, Zelensky said. The rockets are ready. You could already be in Ukraine. But unfortunately the approval has still not been granted, Zelensky said, according to the Ukrainian presidential office. “This all suggests that a political decision has been made to slow support for us.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi (2024)
The Washington Post confirms this version. According to a report in the US newspaper, it is attached to Secretary of Defense Hegseth. This had not refused a delivery – but also not yet given a final approval.
At Telegram, Zelensky became clear on Monday. He wrote: It is important to call things by their name. An aggressor must also be called that. If missile shipments for Ukrainian defense are blocked while sanctions against Russia are relaxed, then unfortunately this is a denial of reality by our partners.
On Monday evening (local time) came from US President Donald Trump then also a verbal attack: We have given Ukraine a lot – it has given us nothing. Don’t forget that, he said in Washington. He described Zelensky as clueless and “no real help” in the peace efforts.
Zelensky had spoken on Sunday with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the delivery of Patriot air defense systems. Ukraine is finding it increasingly difficult to fend off Russian missiles. This is also because the vital data needed to intercept Russian missiles is not always reliably transmitted to Kyiv. Corresponding warning did not exist before a heavy Russian attack on Monday, the Ukrainian government said (more here).
Zelensky also complained that the Ukrainian army had not had access to US intelligence for “three days” during Russian ballistic missile attacks, which had weakened his country. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected the allegations and spoke according to the “New York Times” of a software problem.
Zelensky also complained on Monday that the satellite communications service Starlink, which is important for the army, once again works at throttled speed on several front sections (more here). Last week, Ukraine accused the US of deliberately lowering the speed of the service of tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. Earlier, the U.S. president had been angry about Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.
The US government denied that the president had ordered the throttling. Musk himself blamed the Trump administration. “All limits on speed or use will be decided by the US military and ultimately by POTUS [President of the United States],” he said.
Critics have long accused Trump of taking a Russia-friendly course. Recent events fueled fears in Ukraine that the US could reduce support on the battlefield in order to force Ukraine to make concessions.
The US President had already suspended sanctions against Russia shortly before their entry into force on Friday (more here). The U-turn came just a week after he signed a controversial deal with the Kremlin on the supply of Russian diesel – and a good two weeks before the US congressional elections.
In the so-called midterms on November 3, Trump’s Republicans are under pressure because of the increased cost of living and especially the high fuel prices as a result of the Iran war.
The US president wants to make Ukraine pay for his messed up Iran war. But Europeans have levers that they should finally use. You can find out more about this here .
Source: Spiegel ›
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