Zelenskyy accuses US of holding back paid Patriot interceptors as Trump calls for a new negotiator

Zelenskyy accuses Washington of holding up paid missiles

Volodymyr Zelenskyy told US senators on Monday, 19 October 2026, that the Pentagon is delaying missiles that European allies had already paid for under the Purl programme, which lets NATO countries buy weapons packages for Ukraine from the United States. According to Zelenskyy, one shipment is waiting for the signature of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth before it can leave. He also said several European countries are ready to transfer Patriot interceptors from their own stocks but still need American approval. A Washington Post report says Hegseth has not rejected a delivery but has not yet given a final release. Zelenskyy said the delays and limits on intelligence sharing were hard to explain between friends.

The missiles are ready, and they could already be in Ukraine. But unfortunately, there is still no approval.

Overnight strikes and missing warnings

Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv and its surroundings in several waves during the night from Sunday 18 October to Monday 19 October, cutting electricity to more than half a million households. Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat said on Monday morning that no warning had come before a barrage hit power plants in Kyiv at about 11pm on Sunday evening, though a warning did arrive before a later strike. Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that there had again been no early warning from partners. Ukraine depends on US intelligence to spot fast-moving ballistic missiles fired by Russia. Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, told the BBC that people had died because authorities lacked time to warn the population. He said the data sometimes arrives before an attack and sometimes does not, and on the latest night it came only one minute ahead. The White House insists intelligence sharing continues as normal, and Washington denies changing it.

Starlink and the wider rift

Zelenskyy also complained that Starlink works at several front sections only at reduced speed, which matters because Ukrainian military communications and drone operations rely on Starshield data. Ukraine accused the US last week of deliberately throttling the service after Trump voiced anger at Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. The US government denies that Trump ordered the slowdown, while Elon Musk has held the Trump administration responsible for the limits. Trump has argued that the strikes on refineries feed soaring fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections. Zelenskyy said on Sunday he had spoken with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about Patriot air defence systems.

Trump's response and what comes next

Trump answered on Monday evening, Washington time, by suggesting Zelenskyy should hand the talks with Russia to someone else.

Maybe it's time for Zelenskyy to get somebody else to negotiate.

Earlier he had called for the Ukrainian leader to be replaced, and he described Russia's conduct as fine while saying it was not doing much. Trump also said he was open to a three-way summit with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in China in November. Zelenskyy said the decisions on the war, including arms delays and intelligence restrictions, pointed in one direction.

All of this suggests that some political decision has been made to slow down the support for us.