US to sell 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine: Rs 19,000 crore deal, Europe and Canada to bear the full cost; Zelenskyy asks for 100 missiles per month

The United States has approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine. The cost of this deal is about Rs 19,000 crore. Its full cost will be borne by European countries and Canada. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded to provide 100 missiles per month to defend against Russian attacks. The US State Department approved this potential deal on Friday. Under this, Ukraine will get the most advanced version of the Patriot, the PAC-3 MSE missiles. These missiles can destroy the enemy's ballistic missiles in the air itself. Zelenskyy calls for the delivery of missiles as soon as possible President Zelenskyy welcomed the approval of the United States. He said that according to the current conditions, it could take many years for its supply to begin. He appealed to the United States to find a way to deliver the missiles as soon as possible. Posting on X, Zelenskyy said that 500 missiles can be very helpful for Ukraine's air defense in the winter. But the threat of Russian attack is still there, so it is also needed now. Zelenskyy said that Russia has carried out more than 30 attacks on important targets in Ukraine in the last two weeks of October. According to him, Russian President Putin wants to freeze essential services to Ukraine before winter. Russia is targeting electricity, heating systems, water supplies and bridges. Zelenskyy suggested that the United States, European countries and other allies should immediately help Ukraine by providing them with a stockpile of missiles. Then their stockpile can be replenished by producing new missiles. This will give Ukraine the necessary security in the winter of 2026-27. Ukraine has exhausted stockpile of Patriot missiles The shortage of missiles is a major challenge against Ukraine. Zelenskyy said this week that Kyiv had been waiting for US approval for almost a month. These missiles are to be used in the Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems. Earlier this month, Ukraine completely ran out of its current stockpile of Patriot missiles, according to a CNN report. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine received an average of only 12 Patriot missiles per month from the United States this year, while about 150 ballistic missiles have to be intercepted each month to avoid Russian attacks. Why is Europe helping Ukraine? Putin warns Europe that a confrontation with Russia will be costly Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned European countries that escalating the conflict with Russia could be costly for them. Putin said that Russia does not want war with Europe, but if any country struggles with it, it should be prepared for its consequences. He warned that if tensions escalate too much, no one will win. Canada pledges to continue military assistance to Ukraine Canada is also providing military and economic assistance to Ukraine. According to the Canadian government, since 2022, it has pledged more than 25.5 billion Canadian dollars in economic, military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Canada has extended its military training mission Operation Unifier until 2029. Under this, Canada will train Ukrainian soldiers and provide them with weapons, ammunition and other military equipment. A joint statement issued after the meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Zelenskyy on September 10, 2026, said Canada will help strengthen Ukraine's air defense and address missile shortages. The two countries have also planned to jointly manufacture drones, anti-drone systems, electronic warfare equipment and ammunition. For this, there will also be cooperation in technology and research.