U.S. President Donald Trump said he would allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defense missiles.
On the 8th (local time), President Trump, who is visiting Ankara, Türkiye, to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the meeting, Trump said, "We will give Ukraine the license to make Patriots and also tell them how to make them."
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, President Zelenskyy has continuously asked the United States to provide more Patriot missiles. Recently, he has also requested the authority to produce the missiles on their own.
Patriot missiles can shoot down enemy aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles. Because of this, demand is high in wartime, but they are expensive and take a long time to produce.
At a news conference held the previous day, Zelenskyy continued to make similar arguments. He also said that the production volume of U.S.-made Patriot missiles needed by his country is not sufficient.
He also asked NATO member states to "persuade the United States to let Ukraine obtain a license for the missiles and produce them directly." Trump's remarks that day are seen as responding to Zelenskyy's request.
Trump said, "We have not yet informed the company (that manufactures Patriots) of this," but added, "If it receives manufacturing authority, Ukraine could make the missiles fairly quickly."
Regarding the meeting that day, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said, "It was different from early last year, when the two leaders were sharply at odds," and assessed that "Trump showed he is treating Ukraine much more favorably than before to end the Russia-Ukraine war."