Zelenskyy: US is pushing Ukraine towards capitulation and delaying Patriot missile deliveries

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused US President Donald Trump of trying to pressure Ukraine into capitulating to Russia and delaying deliveries of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defence systems.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with Bloomberg on 18 October

Quote: "I believe steps have been taken to convince Ukraine to capitulate. I am not saying that this is the goal our partners are pursuing. I don't want to think that our American partners believe the war [against Russia] could be ended sooner at Ukraine's expense. But that's how it looks."

Details: Zelenskyy also said that the US is delaying deliveries of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defence systems, which are used to down Russian ballistic missiles.

According to the president, Ukraine had paid for the weapons, including anti-ballistic missiles, under the PURL programme .

"A part of the supplies has been authorised [by the US side], while the rest haven't been. And this is not a technical issue," he said.

Zelenskyy noted that the US is currently supplying Ukraine with only 12 Patriot interceptor missiles per month – around a quarter of the number provided under Joe Biden's administration. In addition, under Trump, the US sells these missiles to Ukraine, whereas Biden provided them free of charge as part of military aid.

He believes relations with the US could improve after the US midterm elections, which will take place on 3 November.

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