The White House has blocked the transfer of Patriot missiles to Ukraine. This will exacerbate the ongoing conflict between Kyiv and Washington D.C.
The transfer of interceptor missiles from countries friendly to Ukraine now requires approval from the US Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth.
Delays in the approval of transfers from partner countries coincide with an ever-deepening rift between President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, partly due to a lack of access to information from the Starlink satellites, as well as the US diesel deal with Russia.
Today, Zelenskyy is in Oslo for talks with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. The meeting is receiving little attention in countries other than Norway, and is not mentioned on the front pages of either Expressen or Aftonbladet in Sweden.
Although Hegseth has not formally rejected the agreements involving countries other than the US, he has not completed the necessary steps to approve them, according to sources cited by The Washington Post.
Last week, a Ukrainian official told the newspaper that Kyiv had ‘only a couple’ of missiles left in its stockpile. This leaves Ukraine highly vulnerable to Russian missile attacks.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accuses the US of deliberately delaying the delivery of these vital defensive missiles. Today, at least ten people were killed following attacks on various parts of Ukraine, including the Kyiv area.
Zelenskyy has also criticised the US for preventing the Starlink satellites from providing Ukrainian forces with vital information about imminent missile attacks.
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, called it “scandalous” to suggest that people are dying in Ukraine because the US is withholding information.
“I saw that a person with links to the Ukrainian government said that people in Ukraine are dying because the US is withholding information from them. That is scandalous. It is outrageous. It is simply not true. It is not correct,” said Rubio, who is currently visiting India.
He denied that the US was deliberately withholding military equipment from Ukraine, but said it might be true that a batch of interceptor missiles purchased for the forces in Kyiv had not been delivered.
Rubio went on to say that President Trump was “frustrated” by the accusations that he had deliberately harmed Ukraine, including the claims that he had ordered the sharing of intelligence information to be halted.
“He doesn’t like being accused of things that aren’t true, including the allegations that he somehow ordered the exchange of intelligence information to be halted. And that is not true; he has said so repeatedly.”
Trump has continued to attack Zelenskyy and has criticised Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. In addition, Trump has accused the Ukrainian president of not wanting a peace deal and has demanded that he be replaced.
Neumann: Zelensky’s visit to Norway is a counter-move against Trump
Western media accuse Trump of supporting Russia. He has pointed to these attacks as the cause of the sky-high fuel costs, which are largely caused by the war against Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. However, European NATO countries show no willingness to contribute militarily to resolve the problem.
On Monday, Trump asked Zelenskyy to ‘remember’ their row in the Oval Office at the start of his second term, during which he and Vice-President JD Vance criticised the Ukrainian leader for showing a lack of respect in the White House.
“Zelenskyy is a man who should have ended this war a long time ago. If he’d listened to me and remembered the Oval Office, he would have ended this a long time ago,” Trump told reporters ahead of a visit to Kansas.
“I think it’s time for someone else to negotiate on Ukraine’s behalf.”
President Trump has indicated that he is ready to meet Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in China next month for a summit where ending the war in Ukraine may be discussed.
The Kremlin proposed the meeting. Zelenskyy has not been invited.
