The State Department has approved the sale of 500 Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine for an estimated price of $2.1 billion.
The deal will improve Ukraine’s ability to counter current and future threats and will sustain existing Patriot systems in the country, the State Department said Friday in a statement.
The deal will also be paid entirely by partners in Europe and North America, with no U.S. funds contributing, the State Department said.
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“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political and economic stability in Europe. Ukraine will pay for this purchase with donations from Canada, Germany, and Norway via the JUMPSTART program and national funds, financed by the European Union’s Ukraine Support Loan,” the statement reads.
Lockheed Martin will be the principal contractor behind the deal, which will not require “assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Ukraine.”
The State Department also said the sale will have no “adverse impact” on U.S. defense readiness.
The sale comes at an inflection point for U.S.-Ukraine relations, as the Trump administration pushes for a permanent settlement to Russia’s war with Kyiv.
President Trump in recent weeks has forcefully criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for attacking Russian oil refineries, asserting the policy is leading to higher oil prices.
The two leaders have also been at odds over Mr. Trump’s decision to waive oil sanctions on Russian energy, which critics say will only provide Moscow with more money for its war.
There is also mounting concern that the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has severely depleted U.S. stockpiles of critical munitions, such as Patriot missiles.
Before the Iran war, which Mr. Trump launched with Israel in February, the U.S. military had an estimated 2,300 Patriot interceptors. After extensive use countering Iranian ballistic missile attacks, the U.S. has fewer than 1,000 interceptors, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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