“We are gonna give you a licence to make Patriots,” Donald Trump told Volodymyr Zelensky at Wednesday’s NATO summit in Ankara. “I think they can produce them very quickly once we explain it.”
It was an offer, not a signed deal, and Trump admitted he had not yet told the manufacturers, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. “That’ll work out alright,” he said. The reason for the generosity was practical. Giving Ukraine the licence, he said, meant Kyiv could not “complain that we’re not giving them enough.”
The scarcity behind the offer
The numbers explain why the gesture matters. A single Patriot battery with its missiles is worth around $1bn (£740m). Production is slow, with only 600 missiles built per year, according to the US Department of Defence. The Center for Strategic and International Studies said the US used more than half its stockpile during its war with Iran earlier this year. “We have Patriots, but we don’t have that many,” Trump said. “We need them for ourselves too.”
Ukraine needs them badly. Moscow has stepped up ballistic missile strikes, and dozens have died in Kyiv alone over the past week. The Ukrainian Air Force said earlier this week that a “serious shortage” of interceptors meant none of the 23 ballistic missiles Russia fired on Sunday night were shot down. More than 20 people died in that attack. Zelensky has called ballistic missiles Russia’s “last major advantage,” since their speed and steep flight path make them hard to stop. He confirmed in late May that Ukraine had formally asked Washington to authorise licensed production.
Doubts in Kyiv
Whether the missiles can really be built in Ukraine is another question. Ivan Stupak, a former security service officer, told the BBC the Patriots are vital but that Ukraine cannot make such advanced munitions. “It’s really sophisticated, cutting-edge equipment,” he said. He expected production to end up on European soil under supervision, a process that could take many months. “We have no safe place on the entire Ukrainian territory,” Stupak said.
Later turns
The promise did not settle the matter. By September 25, Zelensky said Trump had told him in New York that he had made “the final decision: Ukraine will receive a license to manufacture Patriot missiles.” Trump had cooled on the idea in the weeks after the July summit, according to the report. Zelensky said in an August CNN interview that Ukraine holds only a tenth of the interceptors it needs.
Other remarks at the summit
Trump said Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russia were succeeding. “It’s an escalation, but it’s also an escalation that can help lead to an end,” he said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seated beside him, said hitting Russian refineries showed Moscow “how difficult it is to defend its airspace.” Trump again floated a Zelensky-Putin meeting and asked whether Zelensky would go to Moscow, as Putin has said he would require. “It’s difficult – there are a lot of Ukrainian drones there,” Zelensky joked.
Sources
- Trump says Ukraine will get licence to produce Patriot missiles
- Zelensky says Trump approved Patriot missile production in Ukraine
