Trump and Zelensky Clash Over U.S. Rocket Delivery Blockage

Trump and Zelensky met with journalists in Washington and Washington, respectively, and exchanged verbal accusations. Trump said, "We have given the Ukraine a lot – they have given us nothing," and suggested another leader negotiate peace with Russia. Zelensky responded by accusing the U.S. of withholding paid intercept rockets and of delaying deliveries of Patriot air‑defense systems.

Zelensky said that European states had already paid for the rockets under the Purl program and that the rockets were ready for delivery. He added that the U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had not signed off on the shipments, which he said was a political decision to slow support. The Washington Post confirmed that Hegseth had not rejected the delivery but had not finalized approval.

A senior U.S. defense official said there were no changes to the program that allows NATO states to purchase U.S. weapons for Ukraine. The same official said the intelligence‑sharing program had not changed. After a brief pause, the U.S. resumed providing information on Russian attacks.

Zelensky also complained that the Ukrainian army had not received U.S. intelligence for three days during Russian attacks. He cited a software problem as the cause of the delay. He also noted that Starlink satellite communications were running at reduced speed on several front lines.