Zelensky told a bipartisan group of US senators and representatives, joining by video call, that the Pentagon is delaying interceptor missiles that some European countries have already paid for under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, known as PURL. He said the shipment is waiting for the signature of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Washington Post, citing people close to the matter, reported that Hegseth has not yet approved moving Patriot missiles from allied stockpiles to Kyiv, but has not formally rejected the requests either. Zelensky said several European countries are ready to send Patriot interceptors from their own arsenals and are waiting only for US authorisation. He added that the missiles are ready and could already be inside Ukraine, and said this suggested a political decision had been taken to slow support for Kyiv.
Zelensky said Ukraine could suspend strikes on Russian oil refineries for 30 days. In return, he wants the United States to help protect Ukrainian skies over the same 30 days, particularly with Patriot interceptors. He said such an exchange would be fair, but that Washington had shown no willingness to help even on that option. According to Ukrinform, Zelensky also met a Lockheed Martin delegation in Kyiv to discuss expanding supplies of ballistic missile interceptors and maintaining and repairing F-16 fighters in Ukraine. AGI reports that he also said Hegseth is not authorising delivery of Patriot and Aim-9X missiles for the NASAMS air defence system, although NATO countries had already paid for them.
Zelensky said Starlink and Starshield equipment has stopped working in several sectors of the front on drones flying at 130 to 161 km/h, slowing frontline logistics and limiting the use of mid-strike drones and jet-powered interceptor drones aimed at Shahed attack drones. He said the issue must be raised again with partners at every level. According to Mykhailo Drapaty, head of Ukraine's armed forces, alerts from the Pentagon arrive only in irregular waves, which he said puts lives at risk. Air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said two ballistic raids hit overnight on 19 October, at 23:00 and at 3:00. He recalled that during the massive attack of the night of 14 October, which involved 39 missiles, partners did not warn about the first wave but did warn about the second. Zelensky separately said partners had failed to give warning of ballistic missile attacks three times recently.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported on Telegram that three people were killed in the Kyiv region, while officials said one person was killed in attacks on Zaporizhzhia in the south-east, four deaths in total. Adnkronos reports six people injured in the Kyiv region attack. Zelensky said the latest wave of Russian attacks damaged 28 substations and other important energy infrastructure. He also said he had spoken with Pope Leo XIV, wished him a full recovery after surgery, and discussed the humanitarian catastrophe in Oleshky, which is under Russian occupation. A Russian claim reported by Ria Novosti, citing a Russian commander, says drones destroyed more than 40 antennas, communication stations and Starlink terminals of Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region over one month. The sources do not confirm that figure.
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Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump, was due in Oslo on 20 October to meet Zelensky and European representatives and agree a comprehensive peace proposal to put to Russia, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid, who cited a US official. Witkoff then planned to travel to Moscow to present the ideas to Vladimir Putin. US Vice President JD Vance told the digital outlet 2WAY that Ukraine has no formal alliance with the United States and should not join NATO, adding that the two countries will cooperate on some matters and disagree on others. In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Zelensky said the limits on intelligence sharing and the slower Starlink service were now reality rather than threats, calling this unfair, and said he has an excellent relationship with Giorgia Meloni. He described the situation as the most difficult since the start of the war during a video call organised by senators Richard Blumenthal and Thom Tillis.
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Zelensky said the Pentagon is holding up Patriot interceptors that European countries already paid for, as US envoy Steve Witkoff prepares to meet European leaders in Oslo.
AI text based on reports by Il Fatto Quotidiano, il Giornale.it, Adnkronos and other publishers. Published .