Ukraine says it has the green light to build Patriot missiles. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that U.S. President Donald Trump approved the plan, which came out of a meeting between the two men at the UN General Assembly in New York earlier this week.
Zelensky wrote on X that “concrete agreements” are in place for Ukraine to receive licenses to manufacture the systems. He called it a “very important decision” for Ukraine’s security.
The need is plain. Ballistic missiles have turned up more and more in Russian attacks, and the Patriot is built to intercept them. Zelensky has said Ukraine holds only 10% of the missiles it would need to counter the threat properly.
Months of talks
The licensing question did not appear overnight. Negotiations ran for months and had been raised at the NATO summit in Turkey, but the deal stalled until now. No date has been given for when Ukrainian-made missiles might be available.
The Hill reported that the Trump administration also proposed three-way talks among the U.S., Ukraine and Russia, with the United Arab Emirates floated as a venue.
At the UN
In his speech to the General Assembly, Zelensky singled out Russian President Vladimir Putin. He described him as “patient zero” in spreading war around the world. The more freedom Putin has, Zelensky said, “the more dangerous the world becomes for everyone else.”
Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine continue without a pause, and the interceptor shortage is the immediate weak point. Local production, if it gets going, would reduce Kyiv’s reliance on deliveries from others.
