Finland calls on US to show "political willingness" and hand over already paid-for missiles to Ukraine

Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen has accused the US of lacking political will, which has caused delays in supplying Ukraine with Patriot interceptor missiles already paid for by European allies.

Source: Häkkänenin an interview with Euronews, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Häkkänenin said that European countries have already financed interceptor missiles for Ukraine, but political factors on the part of the US are hindering the delivery of this weaponry to the Ukrainian forces.

Quote: "Now is the most critical time to have all the air defence capabilities for Ukraine. We have the funding, now we need the stocks to be delivered to Ukraine. But we need the political willingness also from the US side to start the deliveries."

Details: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously reported that Ukraine has been waiting for nearly a month for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriot and NASAMS air defence systems. No official explanation for the apparent delay in supplies has been provided.

The Finnish defence minister stressed that Europe has already paid for these systems and is calling on Washington to fulfill its obligations.

When asked whether Hegseth bears personal responsibility for the delay, Häkkänen replied that he does not know who exactly is to blame for this situation.

Quote: "I'm not familiar with what is the main problem, but we know that the Ukrainians need Patriots. Europeans have given the funding for that and now it's only a matter of political arrangements."

Details: Meanwhile, a NATO source told Euronews that the supreme allied commander Europe is urging seven member states to provide Ukraine with more missiles from their own stockpiles. However, these countries are in no rush to do so without guarantees that the US will replace what they provide.

Background:

• Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara called on the E5 countries – Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Poland, and Italy – to consider transferring 10% of their stockpiles of interceptor missiles for Patriot and IRIS-T systems to Ukraine in exchange for future deliveries awaited by Kyiv.
• Zelenskyy said Ukraine has been receiving an average of only 12 missiles per month for Patriot systems in 2026.

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