Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Tuesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump “bear blame for their blood” if Ukrainian civilians die for lack of air defense interceptors. His post came a day after a report said the administration has not approved transfers of Patriot missiles to Ukraine.
Blumenthal’s full post, published at 9:07 a.m. on Oct. 20, 2026, read:
“Without vital air defense interceptors, innocent Ukrainian civilians will suffer spiraling death & destruction from Putin’s bombing. Hegseth & Trump bear blame for their blood. Their complicity & cruelty stain America’s moral standing & national security.”
The report Blumenthal linked
Blumenthal linked a Washington Post report by John Hudson, published Oct. 19 at 6:33 p.m. EDT, headlined “Trump administration holds up Patriot missiles for Ukraine.” It said the administration has not approved the transfer of interceptor missiles needed to protect Ukraine from Russian missile and drone attacks.
At least some of the transfers are from countries friendly to Ukraine and require Hegseth’s approval, the report said, citing a U.S. official and three other people familiar with the matter. The United States keeps control of the weapons because it makes them and ships them abroad under agreements requiring U.S. sign-off on transfers.
A senior Pentagon official said there had been no change in the department’s policy on intelligence sharing or on what capabilities Europeans may provide to Ukraine. Hegseth, speaking at a security summit in Singapore earlier this year, said the United States looks for ways to help Ukraine and enable Europe to do more.
Blumenthal’s record on air defense for Ukraine
Blumenthal has pressed the Pentagon on munitions for Ukraine before. In 2025, he led a bicameral letter urging Hegseth to reverse a Defense Department decision to pause shipments of munitions and arms to Ukraine. The letter specifically named Patriot PAC-3 interceptors among the items affected and asked how long Ukraine could keep up its rate of expenditure before reserves ran out.
In February 2024, after his fifth trip to Ukraine, Blumenthal said Ukraine was at “a life or death moment” and listed air defense among the capabilities Zelenskyy said it needed most urgently.
On May 28, 2026, Reuters reported that Blumenthal and Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said in Kyiv that the U.S. should respond positively to Zelenskyy’s request for more Patriot systems and interceptors. Blumenthal said the pair would lobby on their return to Washington for more air defense interceptors and tougher sanctions on Russia.
Reuters also reported then that Ukraine had been buying Patriot missiles through NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, financed by European allies. That is the arrangement at the center of the transfer approvals described in this week’s report.
Blumenthal said on X that he and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) organized a Monday call with Zelenskyy and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, which touched on disruptions to U.S. intelligence sharing. Zelenskyy told the group the Pentagon is delaying missiles that partners have already paid for.
Blumenthal’s office did not immediately say whether he intends to seek hearings or other formal action on the delayed transfers. Hegseth has not publicly said whether he has approved the shipments.