Zelensky: Trump approves Ukraine's license to produce Patriot missiles

Ukrainian President Zelensky said on the 25th that US President Trump told him to allow Ukraine to produce advanced "Patriot" air defense interceptor missiles.

Trump has previously reversed his stance on this matter. Patriot missiles are the only reliable weapon capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles, but Ukraine currently has a severe shortage of them.

"During our last meeting, President Trump emphasized to me that yes, I have made a final decision. Ukraine will receive official permission to produce Patriot missiles," Zelensky said in a voice message to reporters.

Trump said in July that it would be "very cool" to authorize Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles, but he later changed his tune and said the United States should be "very cautious" before granting such authorization to Ukraine.

Since the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran at the end of February this year, which caused the supply of Patriot missiles to be diverted to the Middle East, Ukraine has reported a serious shortage of Patriot missiles.

However, even if Ukraine is allowed to produce "Patriot" missiles, it will take more than a year to establish relevant industrial production capacity, which will not be able to meet Kyiv's urgent needs for serious ammunition shortage.

Zelensky said last month that Kiev needed 5% of the U.S. Patriot interceptor missile stockpile to survive the winter and 10% of the stockpile to destroy ballistic missiles from Russia. At the same time, Zelensky said that Ukraine is developing its own anti-ballistic missile system "Freya".