Hegseth Signature Missing on Ukraine Missile Request for a Month, Zelensky Says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not yet approved a shipment of interceptor missiles for Ukraine's Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems. Zelensky said he has directed his team to raise the matter again with Washington.

In a post on X, Zelensky wrote that Ukraine has been waiting nearly a month for Hegseth's sign-off on the missiles. He did not give a reason for the delay. The request covers interceptors for the two air defense platforms that Ukraine relies on to counter Russian missile and drone attacks.

The request sits inside a purchasing arrangement under which NATO allies buy missiles for delivery to Ukraine through a U.S. program known as PURL. Zelensky has repeatedly pressed the United States to move deliveries faster before winter. Russia has stepped up strikes on energy and civilian infrastructure in recent weeks.

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a batch of interceptors may not have been delivered, but said the delay was not driven by political considerations. The exchange comes as the United States and Ukraine work through separate disagreements: President Donald Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia and criticized Zelensky over Ukraine's continuing attacks on Russian refineries.

Ukraine has also reported gaps in U.S. intelligence sharing on Russian missile attacks in recent weeks, and said the military version of Starlink was throttled for days, disrupting operations and air defenses. Reuters reported that the order to throttle Starshield came from inside the White House. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and U.S. officials have each said publicly that any limits on Starlink or Starshield could only have been decided by the other.

Zelensky's request for Pentagon approval of Patriot and NASAMS interceptors remains unsigned as of Monday.