President Trump announced a major shift in U.S. support for Ukraine on Wednesday, revealing that Washington will allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles under license—a move he said will enable Kyiv to produce one of the world’s most advanced air-defense weapons domestically instead of relying solely on American deliveries.

The announcement came during the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where Trump said the United States would provide Ukraine with the rights and technical know-how needed to build Patriot missiles, which serve as the interceptor component of the Patriot air-defense system. The missiles are among the few weapons capable of shooting down incoming ballistic missiles, which travel into space before descending toward their targets at tremendous speeds.

Trump unveiled the plan while meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, describing it as a major step toward dramatically increasing production of the sophisticated weapon by allowing Ukrainian factories to manufacture the interceptors themselves.

For months, Zelensky has repeatedly urged the United States and its allies to provide additional Patriot missiles. It was unclear whether he had been informed of the licensing plan beforehand, but Trump presented the announcement publicly as though it were new information.

Although the Patriot system is among the most technologically advanced defensive weapons in the world, Trump expressed confidence that Ukraine possesses the industrial expertise needed to manufacture the missiles and suggested production could begin relatively quickly.

Explaining why he was comfortable sharing the technology, Trump stressed that the Patriot is a defensive system designed to protect civilians and infrastructure rather than conduct offensive operations.

“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it, it’s very complex… That’s pretty cool, right? That’s why he can’t complain we’re not giving him enough, make ’em yourself!”

Trump said Ukraine is one of the few countries capable of building such sophisticated weapons and predicted the production process could move rapidly.

“most countries couldn’t do that… but this is a very ingenious group… [it could be done in] not that much time, actually… I think they can produce them pretty quickly… we’ll work with the company. They have the capability to produce weapons, pretty complex weapons”.

Zelensky welcomed the announcement and praised the Patriot system as the world’s premier defense against ballistic missile attacks.

Calling the Patriot “the best in the world today, the best anti-ballistic system”, Zelensky expressed appreciation for the expanded cooperation.

Later in the day, Trump broadened the discussion during remarks at the NATO conference, outlining plans to significantly expand U.S. defense manufacturing as well. He said new production facilities would dramatically reduce the time required to build Patriot missiles and other advanced weapons.

“I provided other leaders with an update on the steps we are taking to rapidly scale up production in the United States, and they wanted to hear that because they don’t want to get it in four years, five years, they want to get it in a week. And we’ll actually be at a point like that in the not too distant future with the defence plants that are being grown.

“Lockheed, I think, is building five [new plants]… its going to quadruple the output we have with the munitions, whether it’s a Patriot or a Tomahawk missile… Lockheed-Martin will establish a world-class Patriot missile sustainment facility in Europe. They’ve been given a tremendous incentive by Europe to do that.”

Trump also announced that German defense manufacturer Rheinmetall will begin producing the U.S.-designed Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) in Europe under license.

It remains unclear whether Ukraine’s proposed manufacturing license would cover only Patriot interceptor missiles or extend to the entire Patriot weapons system, including its sophisticated radar and command-and-control components.

A complete Patriot battery—which includes advanced radar, launchers, control equipment, and interceptor missiles—costs more than $1 billion. Individual replacement interceptor missiles are estimated to cost roughly $5 million each.

Trump’s meeting with Zelensky reflected a noticeably warmer relationship between the two leaders than earlier in the year. The president said their personal rapport has improved considerably.

“We had a great talk the other day, I think, very positive. We have some very good stories to tell. He wants to see a settlement… we’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to believe, right? From the Oval Office to now, we’ve developed a very good relationship.”

Zelensky suggested their improving relationship was only beginning, prompting Trump to respond optimistically.

“and this is the beginning, maybe. Just the beginning. And you know the country has a lot of future, such great land, such great assets, such great people… we’ve made a lot of progress in the past couple of weeks”.

Discussing prospects for ending the war, Trump repeatedly emphasized the importance of face-to-face negotiations among the leaders of the United States, Ukraine, and Russia. Asked whether he would be willing to travel to Moscow for such talks, Zelensky drew laughter from those in attendance by joking, “It’s difficult, there are a lot of Ukrainian drones there.”

{Matzav.com}