(Reuters) – The United States will send more than 500 interceptor missiles to Ukraine in the coming weeks, speeding up Washington’s delivery of military aid to the war-torn country, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Citing an unnamed Pentagon official, the WSJ reported that ahead of the US presidential election, in which former Republican President Donald Trump defeated his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris, the US administration aimed to deliver the rest of its aid to Ukraine by April.

The delivery of interceptors for the Patriot missile defense system and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS, should meet Ukraine’s air defense needs for the rest of this year, the newspaper reported, citing an unnamed US official.

Reuters could not independently verify the Wall Street Journal report.

The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the Pentagon and the US State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The Zelenskis have been advocating for months for more weapons and for NATO allies to help Ukraine strike deep into Russia with long-range Western missiles.

Russia’s 2 1/2-year-old war in Ukraine has sparked the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the depths of the Cold War, and Russian officials say the war is now entering its most dangerous phase.

On Friday, President Joe Biden’s administration said it would allow US defense contractors to work in Ukraine to maintain and repair Pentagon-supplied weaponry, in a significant policy shift aimed at helping Kiev’s fight against Russia.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)