Finland urges US to release already paid-for missiles to Ukraine

Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen has accused the United States of lacking political will, saying this is holding up deliveries of Patriot air defence interceptor missiles to Ukraine. In an interview with Euronews, he said European countries have already paid for the missiles, which Ukraine needs to counter Russian aerial attacks.

Häkkänen stressed that this is the most critical time for Ukraine to have all available air defence capabilities. In his words, the funding is in place, and what is needed now is for the stocks to be delivered, which requires political willingness from Washington.

Waiting for Hegseth's approval

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously said Ukraine had been waiting 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 has been given. Asked whether Hegseth is personally responsible, Häkkänen said he did not know who exactly was to blame. He added that he was not familiar with the main problem, but that Ukrainians need Patriots, Europeans have provided the funding, and it is now only a matter of political arrangements.

Allied stockpiles

A NATO source told Euronews that the Supreme Allied Commander Europe is urging seven member states to give Ukraine more missiles from their own stockpiles. These countries, however, are in no hurry to do so without guarantees that the US will replace what they hand over.

Earlier, Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara asked the E5 countries – Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Poland and Italy – to consider transferring 10% of their Patriot and IRIS-T interceptor missile stockpiles to Ukraine in exchange for future deliveries that Kyiv is awaiting. Zelenskyy has said Ukraine has received an average of only 12 Patriot missiles per month in 2026.