Trump offers Ukraine license to produce Patriot missiles

U.S. President Donald Trump has offered Ukraine the right to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, a move intended to bolster Kyiv's defense against Russia's increasingly frequent ballistic missile attacks. Trump informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the NATO summit in Ankara that Ukraine would receive a license to manufacture the advanced air defense systems.

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We are gonna give you a licence to make Patriots.

Trump stated that he had not yet informed defense manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Raytheon of his decision but expressed confidence that it would be resolved. Patriot systems are considered among the world's best and most expensive air defense systems, with lengthy production times. The U.S. itself has a limited stockpile, having used a significant portion during its conflict with Iran earlier in the year.

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I think they can produce them very quickly once we explain it.

Ukraine urgently needs these missiles. Recent weeks have seen a surge in ballistic missile strikes from Moscow, causing numerous casualties in Kyiv. The Ukraine Air Force reported a "serious shortage" of interceptor missiles, which led to none of the 23 ballistic missiles fired by Russia on a recent Sunday night being intercepted. This attack alone resulted in over 20 deaths.

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We have Patriots, but we don't have that many. We need them for ourselves too.

Trump also commented on Ukraine's recent success in launching long-range strikes into Russia, describing it as an "escalation" that could potentially help end the war. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested these strikes on Russian refineries were necessary to demonstrate the difficulty of defending Russian airspace, thereby pressuring Moscow to cease hostilities. Trump also claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin was seeking a deal to end the conflict.

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We are gonna give Kyiv the licence to produce Patriots so that it couldn't complain that we're not giving them enough.