Trump Says US Will Let Ukraine Manufacture Patriot Missile Interceptors

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States would allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors under licence, signalling a major shift in Washington's support for Kyiv as Russia intensifies ballistic missile attacks.

"We're going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool. This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough," Trump said during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara.

"It's a defensive weapon, which I like better than an offensive weapon," Trump added.

Trump did not provide details of the arrangement, and it was not immediately clear whether additional Patriot interceptors would be delivered to Ukraine in the short term. Two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters that the new interceptors would likely be manufactured in Germany or another European country to avoid creating a target for potential Russian strikes inside Ukraine.

The announcement marked a sharp departure from Trump's earlier criticism of Zelenskyy, whom he had previously called "ungrateful." On Wednesday, Trump said the two leaders had developed a "very good" relationship and added that both Moscow and Kyiv wanted to end the war, now in its fifth year after Russia's February 2022 invasion.

Trump said he planned to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin later on Wednesday.

"We've settled a lot of wars, and this one is the one that I thought maybe would be the easiest, but Putin is a difficult character, and this guy's a difficult character," Trump said, referring to Zelenskyy, who was seated beside him.

Zelenskyy replied: "I'm sure you will do everything to stop this war."

Russia's foreign ministry denounced NATO's decisions at the Ankara summit after the alliance announced additional military aid for Ukraine, saying they could have catastrophic consequences.

Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, welcomed the announcement but said Ukraine needed immediate support.

"Giving Ukraine a license to produce Patriots will be big if it happens," McFaul wrote on X. "But Ukraine needs missile defense interceptors now, and can't wait for the production of them in the future."

Asked whether Washington would send more Patriot interceptors immediately, Trump said "some" could be delivered at once and expressed confidence that Ukraine could quickly begin manufacturing its own.

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

"I think they can produce it pretty quickly. Once we explain it, we'll bring the company here. You work with the company. They have a great ability to produce weapons, pretty complex weapons."

Zelenskiy has repeatedly appealed for more U.S.-made Patriot interceptors, the only weapon in Ukraine's arsenal capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, whose high speed and steep trajectory make them especially difficult to shoot down.

Trump also said pressure could be applied to defence companies to increase Patriot missile production.

Ukraine's ambassador to Washington, Olha Stefanishyna, described the Ankara meeting as sending "several important strategic signals" about U.S.-Ukraine cooperation and said she hoped those signals would translate into concrete decisions.

"We highly value the United States’ continued engagement in advancing a path toward a just and lasting peace," Stefanishyna said in a statement.

The announcement also drew praise from U.S. lawmakers.

"This is a great decision," Republican Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska wrote on X. "The manufacturer is currently not keeping up with the needs, and this will surely help."

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote that "enabling Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptors will save civilian lives, strengthen its long-term security, & bolster the arsenal of the democratic world."

Charles Lichfield, deputy director of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center, said the move could prove to be one of the NATO summit's most significant outcomes.

"It doesn't change the equation now, but it's symbolic of a change of attitude by Trump," he said, adding that it was unusual for the United States to share such sensitive military technology with a country at war.

The announcement came as Russia intensified its aerial assault on Ukraine. Moscow has stepped up missile and drone attacks in recent months while ground advances have slowed and Ukrainian strikes on Russian military logistics and oil infrastructure have caused widespread fuel shortages.

Russia fired ballistic missiles at Kyiv again overnight, officials said on Wednesday, in the third attack on the Ukrainian capital in less than a week, exploiting Ukraine's critical shortage of U.S.-made air-defence interceptors.

Ukraine's air force said its defences intercepted 139 of the 169 drones launched overnight but failed to shoot down any of the five ballistic missiles fired by Russia.