Ukraine, US Reach Political Deal On Patriot Missile Production Licences, Zelenskyy Says

Ukraine and the United States have reached a political agreement to grant Kyiv licences to produce PAC-3 Patriot interceptor missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday, adding that a new package of the U.S.-made air-defence missiles would arrive within days.

The Patriot is one of the few Western air-defence systems capable of intercepting the ballistic missiles Russia has increasingly used in attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Speaking to reporters after returning from the NATO summit in Turkey, where he met U.S. President Donald Trump, Zelenskyy said the agreement would allow Ukraine to begin domestic production of the interceptors once the technical details were finalised.

"I believe this was a productive summit for Ukraine. In the coming days, we’ll receive a package from the United States, and there were also some separate agreements," Zelenskyy said, referring to the PAC-3 interceptors.

"We resolved this issue politically," he said of producing Patriot missiles in Ukraine. "It's now very important that our technical teams, all our representatives from different ministries, representatives of the executive branch, start working on this without delay, so that we can get licences very quickly and start production in Ukraine as soon as possible."

Kyiv has repeatedly appealed for additional Patriot interceptors as Russian ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv and other cities have intensified in recent months.

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine and the United States were discussing a broader partnership on drone production, although no final agreement had yet been signed.

"There are some documents that have already been signed so that the American side can get from Ukraine various types, different, different kinds that the United States is interested in for testing. And they’re getting them from us," he said.

He said the equipment included "both aerial drones and marine drones, as well as other technological things."

Separately, Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its European allies were working on developing a lower-cost, mass-produced air-defence system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, with further discussions scheduled in France.

"It's for ballistic targets, similar to Patriot, but more, I would say, mass-produced and a cheaper system," he said.

"At least, that was the task I set for our manufacturers. This is a European model. Our meeting on this will be in France. And it will be very soon."

Zelenskyy also said his relationship with Trump had improved following a series of meetings after last year's tense Oval Office exchange, describing the U.S. president as "positive about Ukraine."

"We definitely discussed a great many different things. We need to follow up, prepare for diplomacy, and there are a few other things, but all of this is the right direction," he said. "During the meeting he was very constructive."

US-brokered efforts to end the war have largely stalled as Washington has shifted attention to the conflict involving Iran. Trump said on Wednesday that he and Zelenskyy had developed a "very good" relationship and that both Kyiv and Moscow wanted to end the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the NATO summit. Putin has said Russia will continue the war despite mounting challenges, including fuel shortages linked to Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, and has continued to demand that Ukraine cede the remainder of the eastern Donetsk region.