Trump Offers Ukraine a License for Patriot Missiles, Tells Zelensky: You Can Produce Them Yourselves

Donald Trump has announced that he is ready to grant Ukraine the licensed right to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, a step that could significantly boost Kyiv’s air defense capabilities against Russian ballistic strikes.

At the NATO summit in Ankara, the US president addressed Volodymyr Zelensky with the words: “We will give you a license to produce Patriot. I believe you can produce them very quickly, once we explain the process to you.”

However, Trump acknowledged that he had not yet informed defense companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon about this decision, but added that “everything will be sorted out.”

Patriot systems are considered among the most advanced air defense systems in the world, with the ability to identify and neutralize ballistic missiles. The cost of a full Patriot battery, together with the missiles, reaches approximately $1 billion.

Production of these missiles also remains limited. According to the US Department of Defense, only about 600 Patriot missiles are produced each year. Washington has acted cautiously in supplying allies, since in its confrontation with Iran earlier this year it used more than half of its own reserves.

“We have Patriots, but not as many as we need. We need them for ourselves too,” Trump said. Meanwhile, at the end of May, Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine had officially submitted a request for US authorization to produce Patriot missiles under license.

This need has become even more acute due to the intensification of Russian ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. In Kyiv alone, dozens of people were killed over the past week.

Ukraine’s Air Force said that, due to a shortage of interceptor missiles, not one of the 23 ballistic missiles launched by Russia in a recent attack was shot down.

Despite Trump’s statements, military experts remain skeptical that Patriot missile production could be carried out on Ukrainian territory under the current conditions of the war.

Former Ukrainian intelligence officer Ivan Stupak said this is highly advanced technology that requires high security standards. According to him, if the project is implemented, it is more likely that production would take place in a European country under US supervision, while the entire process could take months.

At the press conference, Trump also commented on Ukraine’s long-range strikes against targets on Russian territory. “It is an escalation, but also an escalation that could help end the war,” he said.

On the other hand, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries are intended to show Moscow that the defense of its airspace is not impenetrable, increasing pressure to bring the conflict to a close.

Trump also repeated that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants an agreement to be reached to end the war and revived the idea of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

When Trump asked him whether he would be willing to travel to Moscow for a meeting with the Russian leader, Zelensky replied humorously: “It’s difficult… there are a lot of Ukrainian drones there,” referring to Ukraine’s recent attacks on Russian territory.