U.S. approves $2.1 billion sale of Patriot interceptors to Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 18.Olga Ivashchenko / Bloomberg / GettyShareAdd NBC News to GoogleOct. 30, 2026, 6:44 PM EDTBy Abigail WilliamsThe Trump administration approved the sale of $2.1 billion in Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine on Friday, the State Department said in a statement.

The State Department said 500 Patriot missiles are being purchased for Ukraine with donations from Canada, Germany and Norway through a U.S. program and that no American funds were involved.

“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,” the department said in a news release.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said repeatedly in recent weeks that Patriot missile systems are essential for defending against Russian attacks.

“Our soldiers have been very strong this year. Then we really build, try to build air defense shield to defend our civilians, but always a big deficit with Patriot missiles and other kind of air defense,” Zelenskyy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” two weeks ago.

The Ukrainian leader had accused the Pentagon of delaying the delivery of the interceptor missiles that other countries have purchased for Ukraine.

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe cruise of a lifetime was one thing — getting home after its abrupt end is its own adventureFOR SUBSCRIBERSJudge orders Trump administration to hand over list of alleged noncitizen votersFOR SUBSCRIBERSCouple recalls ‘terrifying’ moment ICE officer punctured their car tireFOR SUBSCRIBERSMin Jin Lee considers the promise of educationFOR SUBSCRIBERSHow an explosive ad upended Ohio’s midterm electionsFOR SUBSCRIBERSA force awakens at LA28 as Kathleen Kennedy steps into new roleFOR SUBSCRIBERSParties take different paths in closing TV ads for Senate racesFOR SUBSCRIBERSWhy broadcaster Ernie Johnson isn’t retiring completely: ‘I’m not built that way’FOR SUBSCRIBERSAs Sen. Jon Ossoff builds race lead, Georgia governor candidates vie for his backersFOR SUBSCRIBERSAnti-Muslim rhetoric crescendos at the end of the heated Michigan Senate raceFOR SUBSCRIBERSWhy health and sleep experts oppose permanent daylight saving timeFOR SUBSCRIBERSAlaskans to decide on keeping ranked choice voting amid Senate race sagaFOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP former Sen. John Sununu seeks distance from Trump in New Hampshire comeback bidFOR SUBSCRIBERSOhio legislators alarmed by Medicaid fraud crackdown’s impact on disabled peopleFOR SUBSCRIBERSTop general fired by Hegseth amid leak investigationSlide 1 of 1The announcement of the sale comes as President Donald Trump has recently ramped up criticism of Zelenskyy and described him as an obstacle to efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe cruise of a lifetime was one thing — getting home after its abrupt end is its own adventureFOR SUBSCRIBERSJudge orders Trump administration to hand over list of alleged noncitizen votersFOR SUBSCRIBERSCouple recalls ‘terrifying’ moment ICE officer punctured their car tireFOR SUBSCRIBERSMin Jin Lee considers the promise of educationFOR SUBSCRIBERSHow an explosive ad upended Ohio’s midterm electionsFOR SUBSCRIBERSA force awakens at LA28 as Kathleen Kennedy steps into new roleFOR SUBSCRIBERSParties take different paths in closing TV ads for Senate racesFOR SUBSCRIBERSWhy broadcaster Ernie Johnson isn’t retiring completely: ‘I’m not built that way’FOR SUBSCRIBERSAs Sen. Jon Ossoff builds race lead, Georgia governor candidates vie for his backersFOR SUBSCRIBERSAnti-Muslim rhetoric crescendos at the end of the heated Michigan Senate raceFOR SUBSCRIBERSWhy health and sleep experts oppose permanent daylight saving timeFOR SUBSCRIBERSAlaskans to decide on keeping ranked choice voting amid Senate race sagaFOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP former Sen. John Sununu seeks distance from Trump in New Hampshire comeback bidFOR SUBSCRIBERSOhio legislators alarmed by Medicaid fraud crackdown’s impact on disabled peopleFOR SUBSCRIBERSTop general fired by Hegseth amid leak investigationSlide 1 of 1Zelenskyy also recently noted that Ukraine was left further exposed because of restrictions on the Starlink satellite internet service.

Ukraine said Saturday that both Starlink, run by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and its military variant, Starshield, were fully functional after a long outage, two days after Trump indicated Musk had been asked to “put it back.”

Abigail WilliamsAbigail Williams is a producer and reporter for NBC News covering the State Department.