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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Oct. 20 acknowledged a possible delay in a shipment of missile interceptors to Ukraine, but denied that this would be a deliberate decision to harm Kyiv.
"Every country in the world would like interceptors... It's probably the most in-demand product right now in the defense field," Rubio told reporters during his trip to India.
"So when a country doesn't get interceptors from the United States, it's not because we're denying. We have our own needs, too."
The Kyiv Independent reported on Oct. 19 that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is holding up supplies of Patriot missiles, which Ukraine relies on to intercept Russian ballistic missiles, as ties between Ukraine and the U.S. sour.
"Hegseth has the contracts for Patriot missiles on his desk. He is not signing off on them," one Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent, referring to a shipment already paid for by Kyiv's allies.
Rubio acknowledged that a batch of interceptors may have been held up as the U.S. weighs its strategic priorities, but claimed that "there has not been some deliberate political directive to go out and harm Ukraine."
Patriot interceptors have been in short supply worldwide as the U.S. and its allies burned through their stockpiles during the war with Iran. Ukraine has been receiving limited amounts of Patriot missiles paid for by NATO allies under the PURL initiative, among other channels.
Rubio said he held a 45-minute phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier on Oct. 20 to discuss recent tensions in U.S.-Ukraine relations.
The rift emerged following the unexpected announcement of a U.S.-Russia diesel deal on Oct. 9.
Since then, Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump have exchanged sharp public criticism. Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart of not wanting to end the war and suggested Zelensky should be replaced as Ukraine's leader.
Kyiv, in turn, accused Washington of using military assistance and access to technology to pressure it to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries.