Ukraine Says Allies' Patriot Missiles Are Waiting on Washington. Rubio Says Nothing Is Being Denied. Deliver What Was Paid For.
Zelenskyy told U.S. senators the Pentagon is delaying Patriot missiles already paid for by allies. Secretary of State Rubio says nothing is being deliberately denied.
The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.
Ukraine says Patriot air-defense missiles it needs, many already paid for by European allies, are being held up in Washington. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that some interceptors may not have been delivered but insisted there is no political motive behind it.
What Kyiv says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told U.S. senators on Monday that "the Pentagon is delaying the delivery of missiles" even though Ukraine's European allies had already paid for them, DW reported. He said one shipment was waiting only for the signature of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and that European allies had agreed to send some of their own Patriot missiles but were still awaiting a U.S. green light. "The missiles are ready, and they could already be in Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. "But unfortunately, there is still no approval."
The complaint came after another night of Russian strikes. Several Russian ballistic missiles hit Kyiv and its surroundings overnight Sunday into Monday, cutting off electricity to more than half a million households, according to DW. "Another Russian ballistic missile attack came in several waves overnight, and once again, there was no early warning from our partners," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
What Washington says
The Washington Post reported Monday that Hegseth has not formally rejected the transfers but has not completed the steps needed to approve them, Anadolu Agency reported, citing the Post. Some of the missiles would come from countries friendly to Ukraine, transfers that require Hegseth's approval. A Ukrainian official told the Post the previous week that Ukraine had only "a couple" of Patriot interceptors left. The Post also noted that Hegseth has continued to approve some U.S. assistance to Ukraine.
Rubio acknowledged Tuesday that a batch of interceptors bought for Ukraine under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, a program through which NATO allies purchase U.S. weapons for Ukraine, may not have been delivered, Reuters reported. "I think the important takeaway is that there has not been some deliberate political directive to go out and harm Ukraine," he said as he began a trip to India. "There's nothing being deliberately denied to Ukraine." He said he had a 45-minute conversation with Zelenskyy on Tuesday. Reuters has also reported that the U.S. had threatened to stop the program to press Kyiv to halt its deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
President Trump, meanwhile, renewed his criticism of Zelenskyy. "We've given a lot to Ukraine. They've given nothing to us. Remember that," Trump told reporters Monday, DW reported. "To be honest, I think it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine."
Opinion: Deliver what was paid for
The president is right that Americans have carried a heavy load in this war, and it is fair for an administration to press Kyiv and ask hard questions about where a war is headed. Reasonable conservatives disagree about how much more America should give.
But these missiles are not a new gift. By Zelenskyy's account, European allies have paid for them, and other allies want to hand over Patriots from their own stockpiles. The only thing missing is a signature. Meanwhile, a single night of Russian missile strikes left more than half a million households in and around Kyiv without power, and a Ukrainian official said the country was down to "a couple" of interceptors, according to the Post's reporting. If the delay is paperwork, as Rubio suggests, the fix is simple: finish the paperwork.
Scripture puts it plainly: "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it." And our Lord taught, "let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay." If Washington has decided to stop these transfers, it should say so openly and own the decision. If it has not, the missiles should move. Letting allies and civilians guess is the worst choice of all. Dock Line wrote this week about another Ukraine decision in Ukrainians, Sudanese Keep TPS Protections for Now, DHS Says.
