Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that his American counterpart, Donald Trump, has finally decided to grant Ukraine licences to manufacture Patriot missiles. This statement was made following their meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. However, Trump himself has not yet publicly confirmed this information.
Ukraine has long been keen to obtain licences to manufacture interceptor missiles for the MIM-104 Patriot systems. These systems play a key role in Ukraine’s air defence, protecting the country from threats posed by Russian ballistic and aeroballistic missiles, such as the ‘Iskander-M’ and ‘Kinzhal’.
Earlier, during a meeting at the NATO summit on 8 July, Trump discussed with Zelenskyy the possibility of granting such licences. However, he later noted that the US must be “very cautious” about granting such licences and hinted that the discussion concerned a less technologically sophisticated version of the missiles, without providing further details.
Matthew Whitaker, the US Permanent Representative to NATO, provided further comment on this matter. He confirmed that the US and other allies are actively seeking PAC-3 interceptor missiles to transfer to Ukraine via the PURL programme. The main problem lies not in a lack of funding, but in limited production capacity and insufficient missile stocks. Whitaker expressed hope that the situation would improve in two years’ time, when current investments and projects begin to bear fruit.