diff --git a/pkg/controller/ecs/service/setup.go b/pkg/controller/ecs/service/setup.go
index 47756840a7..16a68b0b70 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/ecs/service/setup.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/ecs/service/setup.go
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ func postObserve(_ context.Context, cr *svcapitypes.Service, resp *svcsdk.Descri
 
 	switch aws.StringValue(resp.Services[0].Status) {
 	case "ACTIVE":
-		if resp.Services[0].DesiredCount != resp.Services[0].RunningCount {
+		if resp.Services[0].DesiredCount == nil || resp.Services[0].RunningCount == nil || *resp.Services[0].DesiredCount != *resp.Services[0].RunningCount {
 			cr.SetConditions(xpv1.Creating())
 		} else {
 			cr.SetConditions(xpv1.Available())