“There are concrete agreements in place,” Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on Friday. In his account, Donald Trump had given him a plain answer at their latest meeting: “I have made the final decision: Ukraine will receive a license to manufacture Patriot missiles.”
The two presidents met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week, CNN reported. The White House had not responded to CNN’s request for comment. The claim rests on Zelensky’s account of the meeting.
An offer that came and went
Whether Trump would follow through has hung over Kyiv for months. At the NATO summit in Ankara in July, he said the United States “might give Ukrainians the right to produce Patriots,” and that Europe manufacturing Patriots for Ukraine was on the agenda. Weeks later, according to CNN, he cooled on the idea.
The Ankara talks covered more than missiles. Zelensky said he wanted mostly to discuss air defence and peace negotiations, and he welcomed work with the United States on a Drone Deal. Trump said relations had “improved significantly” since the Oval Office meeting, and called Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries “an escalation that could help end the war.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio added that Washington would help Ukraine build long-range strike capability against military targets inside Russia.
Why the licence matters
Patriot interceptors are among the few weapons able to bring down ballistic missiles. A recent global supply crunch sent dozens of countries scrambling to restock, and Ukraine’s own deliveries suffered. Russia has leaned on the gap, striking Ukraine with near constant air attacks for about a month, Kyiv most of all.
On Friday, the capital’s mayor said seven civilians, one of them a teenager, died and 59 were injured in daytime drone strikes on Kyiv. Eight regions were attacked, Ukrainian officials said. In an August CNN interview, Zelensky said Ukraine had only a tenth of the interceptors it needs. Five per cent of the current American stockpile, he said, would carry Ukraine through the winter, and 10 per cent would destroy all of Russia’s ballistic missiles.
Talks with Moscow
Zelensky also said Washington proposed three-way talks among Ukraine, Russia and the United States, with the United Arab Emirates as the venue and no date set. He expects to return in ten days with a result after briefing the Europeans while the Americans speak to the Russians. Moscow has made no commitment, saying only that talks could happen “soon.” Vladimir Putin said on Friday that all proposals to resume negotiations are on the table, but that Russia must still weigh its own interests.
Sources
- Zelensky says Trump has made ‘final decision’ to allow Kyiv to make Patriot missiles | CNN
- Trump Says U.S. May Let Ukraine Produce Patriot Interceptor Missiles, Discusses Drone Deal With Zelenskyy, — Main Statements by the U.S. and Ukrainian Presidents During the NATO Summit – Freedom
