NATO denies funding was behind Ukraine’s Patriot interceptor missile shortage
The shortage of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems in Ukraine’s Armed Forces in January 2026 was not linked to delayed payments from European donors or other financial problems.
A NATO official involved in the PURL program said this, Censor.NET reports, citing "European Pravda."
He flatly denied that there had been any delivery delays due to funding.
"From our perspective and from the U.S. perspective, there were no delays in deliveries. What is supplied under the PURL program moves as fast as U.S. logistics chains allow. There were no additional pauses in supply," the Alliance representative said.
At the same time, NATO confirms that Ukraine is indeed facing an acute shortage of critically important munitions such as PAC-3 and PAC-2. The official stressed that the shortage is driven by high demand and logistics, not funding: "Missiles are arriving as fast as the United States can deliver them. It is clear that Zelenskyy is frustrated because he needs a lot more."
Background
- Earlier, the FT reported that Ukraine lacked Patriot missiles in January and that launchers were left empty.
- On February 11 in Brussels, EU member states’ defense ministers are set to meet. Ukraine is likely to request additional air defense systems.
