Trump reluctant to grant Ukraine license to produce Patriot missiles

Trump stated that he was unsure whether Washington would grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missiles, adding that the issue was being considered, according to the Financial Times.

"These are extremely powerful weapons, and we have to be somewhat careful about who we license. We don't actually license equipment," he said.

Trump's comments came just two days after his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. Zelenskyy called the meeting a success and noted that the two leaders discussed the production of Patriot interceptors and several other ideas.

In early July, at the NATO summit in Turkey, the US president announced that Washington would grant Kyiv a license to produce Patriot missiles.

The Patriot air defense system is crucial to Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian ballistic missiles aimed at Kyiv and other cities. Convincing Trump to consider allowing Kyiv to produce these missiles is a significant achievement for Zelenskyy.

Trump stated that his focus is on ending Russia's war in Ukraine, adding that his two envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, will visit Ukraine for the first time in the coming days.

"To put it very simply, we want Russia's war in Ukraine to end. I'm not looking for missiles. We're looking for peace," he said.

Photo: militarnyi.com.