Zelenskyy: Over 100 ballistic missiles fired at Kyiv in two weeks, waiting on Hegseth
Ukraine has waited nearly a month for already-paid Patriot and NASAMS missiles. In Kharkiv, a Russian strike injured four people, including a 4-year-old boy.
Photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Video: YouTube · No Comment TV (Euronews) · youtube.com
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the United States to quickly approve delayed deliveries of interceptors for Patriot and NASAMS systems. "We have been waiting for nearly a month for Mr. Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriots and NASAMS," he said, referring to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He said Russia had fired more than 100 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region since Oct. 14. "Everyone hears and sees that it is now difficult for us to defend against Russian ballistic missiles," Zelenskyy said. The latest strikes on Kyiv killed a 46-year-old woman and injured 15 people.
Ukraine says allies have already paid for the missiles, partly through NATO's PURL program. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged a batch may not have arrived but denied any political motive. The Pentagon said policy has not changed but stressed the need to preserve sufficient U.S. stocks. Late on Oct. 27, a Russian strike hit an apartment building in Kharkiv, injuring four people, including a 4-year-old boy, Mayor Ihor Terekhov and regional authorities said.