Trump says Ukraine will be allowed to build Patriot missiles

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said this Wednesday (8) that Washington will grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors. The move is a big boost for Kiev, which has long sought permission to produce these defensive weapons.

"We're going to give you a license to make Patriots. That's really cool. That way you can't complain that we're not providing enough," Trump said in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the NATO summit in Ankara.

"It's a defensive weapon, which I prefer to an offensive weapon," Trump added.

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Trump did not provide specific details, but the tone of the meeting marked a significant shift from his harsh criticism of Zelensky in the past, when the American president even called the Ukrainian leader ungrateful.

Trump said on Wednesday that he and Zelensky had developed a "very good" relationship and that both Moscow and Kiev wanted to end the war started by Russia's invasion in February 2022.

Trump said he would talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin later.

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"We've resolved a lot of wars, and this is the one that I thought might be the easiest, but Putin is a difficult figure, and this guy here is a difficult figure," Trump said, referring to Zelensky, who was sitting next to him.

Zelensky told Trump: "I'm sure you will do everything to end this war."

The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized, on Wednesday, NATO's decisions at the summit held in Turkey - after the alliance announced military aid to Ukraine -, stating that they could have catastrophic consequences.

It was not immediately clear whether any interceptor missiles would be sent to Kiev in the short term. Two sources familiar with the discussions said the new interceptors would likely be manufactured in Germany or another European country, to avoid creating a target for possible Russian attacks in Ukraine.

"Granting Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missiles would be a very big deal if it happened," said Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia, on the social network X. "But Ukraine needs missile defense interceptors now and cannot wait for them to be produced in the future."

When asked whether the United States would send additional Patriot interceptors immediately, Trump said "some" could be sent immediately and that he believed Ukraine could begin producing its own quickly.

"We have Patriot missiles, but we don't have that many. We need them for ourselves too," he said.

"I think they can produce them very quickly. As soon as we explain the process, we will bring the company here. You work with the company. They have a great capacity to produce weapons, very complex weapons", stated the president.

Zelensky has repeatedly requested American-made interceptors - the only weapon in Ukraine's arsenal capable of shooting down ballistic projectiles, whose high speed and steep flight path make them difficult to intercept.

Trump said pressure could be put on companies to produce Patriot missiles.

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the interceptor missiles used in the Patriot system, which was developed by another U.S. weapons maker, Raytheon, and has been in operation since the 1980s. Both Lockheed and Raytheon maintain business partnerships with European missile maker MBDA.

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Source: CNN