Häkkänen blames US politics for Ukraine Patriot delay

Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen said in a Euronews interview published Nov. 6 that US politics has delayed Patriot interceptor deliveries to Ukraine after a wait Kyiv says has lasted around a month.

The dispute matters as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia fired more than 100 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and its surrounding region in a recent two-week period, more than Euronews said separate Ukrainian sources put US monthly Patriot interceptor production at.

Häkkänen said European countries had provided the money for the US-made interceptors, but Washington still had to approve the transfers. "Winter is coming and Russia is preparing huge attacks on Ukraine's civil infrastructure, energy infrastructure," he told Euronews.

"Now is the most critical time to have all the air defence capabilities for Ukraine," Häkkänen said. "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."

Zelenskyy previously accused US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth of slowing the process. "We have been waiting for nearly a month for Mr Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriots," Zelenskyy wrote on social media in October, according to Euronews.

The transfers run through NATO's Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, a funding mechanism under which European NATO allies and Canada buy US weapons for Ukraine. Euronews said US-made weapons still require final approval from the US defence secretary before they can be transferred to another country.

PAC-3 Patriot interceptors are missiles fired by Patriot air-defence batteries to destroy incoming ballistic missiles and other airborne threats. For Ukraine, they are among the systems used to defend cities and energy infrastructure against Russian strikes.

Ukraine receives some PAC-3 Patriot interceptors through PURL orders paid for by European governments, according to Euronews. Other supplies come through bilateral transfers from existing national inventories, including German stocks.

Häkkänen did not say he knew the reason for the hold-up. Asked whether Hegseth was personally responsible, he told Euronews: "I'm not familiar with what is the main problem, but we know that the Ukrainians need Patriots."

A NATO source told Euronews that the alliance's military commander was trying to persuade seven NATO countries with Patriot systems to provide more to Ukraine. The source said those countries were reluctant without assurances that the US would replace the systems with newly produced stocks.

The source described the issue as likely tied to production constraints. Euronews said no official explanation had been given for the reported delay in US-approved transfers.

The supply problem goes beyond one approval process. Atlas360 reported on Oct. 31 that the US approved a $2.1 billion sale of Patriot interceptors to Ukraine, with deliveries expected to stretch into the 2030s, reflecting long procurement cycles for the system.

Euronews also cited separate Ukrainian sources as saying US factories produce around 60 to 65 Patriot interceptors a month, fewer than the number of ballistic missiles Zelenskyy said Russia fired at Kyiv and the surrounding area in two weeks. Häkkänen said Europe needed to tell Russia that it would not abandon Ukraine.

Source: interview, Euronews, Nov. 6, 2026; Atlas360 reporting, Oct. 31, 2026