Ukraine to receive Patriot, HIMARS missiles, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine will receive Patriot and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) missiles as part of a U.S. weapons aid package financed by NATO allies.
"We will definitely have Patriot and HIMARS missiles," Zelensky said during a press conference in Kyiv on Sept. 17, responding to a reporter's question about the contents of the package.
Zelensky's announcement came a day after the Trump administration confirmed its first weapons transfer to Ukraine under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL — a framework created by NATO members and the United States to coordinate and fund Kyiv's most urgent battlefield needs.
The White House separately confirmed the aid package — a U.S. official told Suspilne that assistance will arrive from U.S. warehouses with funding provided by NATO allies.
Zelensky has repeatedly urged Western allies to provide Patriot systems — one of the few in the world that defend against ballistic missiles — to help shield Ukrainian cities and infrastructure from Russian attacks. Most recently, the Netherlands delivered a military aid package to Ukraine that included Patriot missile components.
HIMARS systems have also been critical for Ukrainian forces throughout the war, playing a key role in Kyiv's battlefield successes. The U.S.-made systems can reach distances of up to 300 kilometers (around 186 miles), giving Ukraine the ability to potentially targets parts of Russia's Leningrad Oblast.
Through PURL, NATO allies will pool contributions to buy American weapons, munitions, and equipment from U.S. stockpiles. According to Zelensky, the first two packages will be valued at $500 million each. This was also confirmed by a White House official who spoke with Reuters.
The U.S. and NATO first reached an agreement on the PURL mechanism in June. Since August, alliance members such as Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden have committed to buying weapons for Ukraine through the mechanism.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
