Zelensky: Trump has decided to grant Kyiv licenses to produce "Patriot" missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump informed him that he had made a final decision to allow Kyiv to produce “Patriot” air defense missiles, following prolonged back-and-forth discussions on the issue.

Ukraine is facing a shortage of these missiles, which are capable of reliably intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.

In an audio recording addressed to journalists, days after meeting Trump in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Zelenskyy said, “In our last meeting, the President confirmed to me that he… has made a final decision. Ukraine will receive licenses to produce Patriot missiles.”

In July, Trump stated that granting Ukraine such licenses would be “very great,” before later saying that the United States must be “very careful” before issuing such a license to Ukraine.

Ukraine has confirmed that it has suffered a severe shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles since the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran in February, which led to the diversion of supplies for these advanced defense systems.

However, even if licenses are granted, building industrial capacity will take more than a year and will not meet Kyiv’s immediate needs.

Kyiv has renewed its calls for urgent support ahead of the winter season, amid the threat of a renewed Russian campaign of strikes on Ukraine’s energy and heating infrastructure.

Last month, Zelenskyy said that Kyiv needs 5% of the U.S. stockpile of Patriot interceptor missiles to withstand the winter, and 10% to destroy all Russian ballistic missiles.

At the same time, he said that Kyiv is working on developing its own ballistic missile defense system, named “Frea.”