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The Trump administration diverted 20,000 anti-drone missiles originally promised to Kyiv to American forces in the Middle East, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The Ukrainian leader said that the missiles, originally secured in a deal under the Biden administration, were meant to counter Moscow’s Shahed drones, which have played a key role in Russia’s mass bombardment of the country.
“We have big problems with Shaheds,” Zelensky told ABC News’ This Week, in reference to the Iranian-designed drones. “We counted on this project — 20,000 missiles. Anti-Shahed missiles. It was not expensive, but it’s a special technology.”
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The weapons were instead diverted to American forces in the Middle East as the US braces for possible conflict with Iran over a stalled nuclear agreement, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly issued an “urgent” call to redirect the weapons last Wednesday.
Hegseth’s order coincided with his absence from the most recent Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting – the first time a defence chief has missed the conference since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
He previously warned European allies that they must provide a greater share of future military assistance to Kyiv. The US halted all new packages of military aid to Ukraine in March this year.
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Meanwhile, Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine on Monday, with Kyiv’s air force reporting that almost 500 drones and missiles were launched at them overnight.
With more than 479 drones and 20 missiles launched, it is the biggest overnight attack of the war so far.
Ukraine could be pounded by more than 500 drones per night as the Kremlin is reportedly building new launch sites, according to The Kyiv Independent.
A security source told the Ukrainian publication that Russia’s production rate of Shahed-type Gerans had increased to 70 units per day, up from a reported 21 a day last year, as Moscow plans to add 12-15 new launch sites to their operation.
Zelensky told ABC News’ Martha Raddatz that people didn’t realise “we are under strikes, under attack every day. And you might remember that when they were talking about ceasefires, temporary ceasefire[s], they still continued attacking and launching strikes.”
He added that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was clearly uninterested in peace, reaffirming that only “hard pressure” from global leaders – including the US – would prompt Putin to think pragmatically.
“Then they will stop the war,” He said. “I am convinced that the president of the United States has all the powers and enough leverage to step up.”
