Trump Agrees to License Patriot Missile Production for Ukraine, Zelensky Says
The Ukrainian president announced the agreement following a meeting with former President Donald Trump, stating that Ukraine will receive licenses to manufacture the critical air defense system.
Former President Donald Trump has agreed to grant Ukraine the licenses to produce its own Patriot missiles, a crucial air defense system, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Friday.
"There are concrete agreements regarding Patriot licenses," Zelensky stated on X, formerly Twitter. "At our meeting, President Trump stressed that he had made his final decision: Ukraine will receive licenses to produce Patriot missiles."
Currently, only the United States, Japan, Germany, and Poland possess the capability to manufacture the Patriot missile systems. Until this agreement, Ukraine's supply of these systems was dependent on aid from the U.S. and its allies.
Zelensky met with Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. The discussions covered Patriot licenses and other armaments necessary for Ukraine's defense through the upcoming winter months. Zelensky indicated that his military advisers had been in contact with defense contractor Raytheon and an Israeli company regarding the licenses, noting a "big deficit for everybody" in the Patriot supply chain.
The Ukrainian president also confirmed that his forces had agreed to an energy cease-fire and were seeking trilateral talks with the U.S. and Russia to de-escalate the ongoing conflict. Zelensky mentioned that the U.S. had proposed preparing for such a meeting and suggested the United Arab Emirates as a potential venue. A Kremlin spokesman stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin views such a meeting as "possible in the near term."
The UN summit discussions occurred amidst ongoing military actions, with Ukraine launching drone strikes on Russian diesel facilities and Russia retaliating against civilian targets in Kyiv. Ukraine reported striking Russian oil refineries again on Friday in response to a prior Russian drone attack on a Kyiv office building that resulted in casualties.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal has also expressed concerns that Russia might target Kyiv's energy systems during the winter. Trump had previously indicated during a NATO summit in July that the U.S. would provide Ukraine with the license to produce its own Patriot interceptors. "This way, you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough," Trump reportedly remarked to Zelensky at the time.