Trump promises Zelensky license for Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missiles
The announcement represents one of Trump's largest gestures of military support toward Ukraine since his return to the White House.
Donald Trump announced this Wednesday that his administration will grant Ukraine a license to locally manufacture Patriot air defense system interceptor missiles, one of the main demands of Volodymyr Zelensky's government in the face of the increase in Russian ballistic attacks.
The announcement was made during a bilateral meeting held within the framework of the NATO summit in Ankara, before the private meeting between both leaders and their respective teams. Trump assured that Washington will share the technology necessary so that kyiv can produce the interceptors, considered Ukraine's main shield against Russian ballistic missiles.
"One of the things we're going to talk about today is we're going to give you the right to build Patriots. We're going to show you how to do it," Trump told reporters. “It's a defensive weapon and I like it more than an offensive weapon.”
Zelensky responded affirmatively when Trump asked him if he considered the measure positive, reflecting the strategic importance that it would have for Ukraine to develop its own interceptor production capacity, in a context of global shortage of this type of weapons.
Since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the Patriot system has become the only means with which Ukrainian forces have managed to intercept Russian ballistic missiles, whose speed and trajectory make them difficult to neutralize with other anti-aircraft systems.
However, in recent weeks Ukraine has warned that it faces a critical deficit of interceptors. According to Ukrainian authorities, in two recent massive attacks Russian forces launched ballistic missiles that could not be shot down due to a shortage of Patriot ammunition, a situation that increased pressure on Washington to authorize local production.
Trump stated that very few countries have authorization to manufacture this sophisticated defense system, but expressed confidence that Ukraine will be able to quickly master the process.
“It is very complex, but they will learn very quickly,” said the US president.