WASHINGTON/TASHKENT/MOSCOW/KYIV – The US administration has not approved the transfer of Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine amid tensions between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, the Washington Post reported on Monday.

At least some of the missiles are being transferred from countries friendly to Ukraine, but the handovers require approval from US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the report said, citing a US official and three other people familiar with the matter.

Hegseth has neither formally rejected the transfers nor completed the required steps to approve them, according to the report.

The United States retains control because the weapons are US-made and are shipped abroad under the agreement that transfers to other countries require US sign-off, said the report.

A Ukrainian official told the newspaper last week that only "a couple" of interceptor missiles remained in Ukraine's stockpile.

The delay comes as Trump has repeatedly criticized Zelensky in recent weeks.

"I think it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine," Trump told reporters on Monday. Earlier this month, he called for Kiev to "get a new president."

"Zelensky doesn't know what he's talking about," he said. "Zelensky is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago."

"Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much," added the US president.

In an interview on Sunday, Zelensky said he did not want to believe that Washington was seeking to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict at Ukraine's expense. "But that's how it looks," he said.  

Rubio: Ending conflict US priority

Ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains a top priority for the US president, and Washington will continue seeking opportunities to facilitate an end to it, the top US diplomat said here on Monday.

Over the past nearly two years, the US has repeatedly engaged in trying to bring about or facilitate an end to the conflict, as President Trump remains open to taking any action that could help end it despite that progress has not met expectations so far, Marco Rubio told reporters during his visit to Uzbekistan.

Explaining the recent suspension of certain US sanctions on Russia, Rubio said the move was intended to test whether ongoing talks with both Ukraine and Russia could produce positive results and avert another year of disastrous conflict.

Describing the conflict as complex and entrenched, where neither side is achieving clear victories while both suffer tremendous damage, the US secretary of state stressed that diplomacy requires continuous efforts.

"In the end, the evidence will be whether a deal gets done or not, whether both sides are willing to give in order to end this war," he added.

On recent comments by President Zelensky that the US had briefly paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv, Rubio denied the assertion.

3 killed in Ukrainian raids in Luhansk

Three people were killed and two others injured by Ukrainian attacks on the Russia-controlled Luhansk region, Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-appointed head of the region, said on Monday.

Ukrainian forces attacked a funeral service vehicle transporting a deceased person, leaving three dead, Pasechnik said.

A driver was injured in a drone strike on a truck on the Lysychansk-Luhansk road section. In another attack on the same section, a 27-year-old man sustained a wound, he said, adding that a total of 70 air targets were intercepted over the region.

1 killed in Russian strikes

Russian forces conducted overnight strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises and other facilities in Kyiv and the surrounding region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.

In Kyiv, the targets included a Datagroup's data processing center; a Fire Point logistics hub used to produce and store components for long-range attack drones, as well as engines for FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles; the Khimvolokno factory, which produced components for drone warheads; and the Kyiv locomotive depot, which was used to store FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles and components for FP-9 ballistic missiles.

In the Kyiv Region, the Planeta Plastik plant in Irpin, which produced polymer materials for the military-industrial sector, was also hit, according to the ministry.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said that its forces had struck a dry cargo vessel carrying military and dual-use cargo while it was sailing 130 km southwest of the port of Odesa.

President Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine received no early warning from its partners about the latest Russian attack on Kyiv.

According to him, Russian forces launched 16 ballistic missiles at energy and infrastructure facilities in Kyiv and its surrounding region overnight. The strikes also damaged a clinic, a school, a metro station and residential buildings.

One person was killed, and eight others were injured in the attack, the Kyiv City Military Administration said.

Russia also launched more than 200 drones of various types, including jet-powered drones, in attacks across Ukraine. The attacks damaged more than 10 energy infrastructure facilities and left at least 550,000 households without electricity.

According to the state-run energy company Ukrenergo, emergency power cuts have been introduced in ten regions in western, northern, southern and central Ukraine.

Zelensky ready to run in wartime elections

President Zelensky said he stands ready to run in presidential elections if a vote is held before the conflict with Russia ends, the Ukrinform news agency reported on Monday.

"If it takes place during the war, of course, it is my duty, because I must defend my country from the beginning until the end of the war," he said.

Ukrainian law requires elections to be held at least six months after the end of hostilities, said the Ukrainian leader, noting that he was ready to explore ways for holding a vote during the conflict if Russia agreed to a 60-day ceasefire.

He explained that the 60-day preparation period would allow Ukraine to amend its election legislation and arrange the necessary security infrastructure.

Ukraine held the last presidential elections in 2019. In 2022, martial law was imposed in the country amid the conflict with Russia, prohibiting elections for security concerns.

Earlier this month, President Trump called on Ukraine to hold a presidential election.