Finland’s defence minister: Europe has paid for Ukraine’s Patriot missiles, now the U.S. must show “political willingness”

Finland’s Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen said on 6 November that European allies have already paid for Patriot interceptor missiles for Ukraine, but that Washington has yet to show the “political willingness” to start deliveries.

“We have the funding, now we need the stocks to be delivered to Ukraine,” Häkkänen told Euronews in an interview conducted in Helsinki. “But we need the political willingness also from the US side to start the deliveries.” He added that this is “the most critical time to have all the air defence capabilities for Ukraine,” and that “it’s only a matter of political arrangements.”

The delay and the sale

The remarks come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in October of holding up approval for almost a month. In late October the U.S. approved the possible sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 MSE missiles to Ukraine for $2.1 billion, a sale that is only approved in principle. Asked whether Hegseth was personally responsible for the delay, Häkkänen declined to name anyone and said he did not know the reason.

Euronews, as relayed by Helsinki Times, also quoted a NATO source who attributed the shortage to production constraints rather than politics, and who said some member states are reluctant to release missiles from their own stocks without assurances that the United States will replace them. The two explanations have not been reconciled publicly.

Europe’s wider message

Häkkänen described Europeans as Ukraine’s biggest supporter and warned that showing exhaustion “weakens the negotiation position” of Europe. On Russia, he said Europeans have to “ramp up their defence fast, and also counter these hybrid threats much more efficiently.”

The question of where scarce interceptors come from has been building for days. Earlier today Kyiv asked allies to swap their Patriot missiles at an emergency NATO-Ukraine Council ahead of the Ramstein meeting. Zelensky has said Ukraine receives only an average of about 12 Patriot missiles a month this year, a figure the Finnish minister did not address.

What comes next

Häkkänen’s interview was given as winter approaches and as Russia continues large drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. No U.S. decision on releasing the paid-for stocks has been announced. Geopolitiki will report any approval or formal response from Washington or NATO.