Trump shifts stance on Patriot production licenses for Ukraine
US President Donald Trump said Washington has not yet agreed to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, and questioned whether it would ever happen.
The United States has not granted Ukraine a license to manufacture interceptors for Patriot air defense systems, and may not do so in the future. RBC-Ukraine reports this, citing US President Donald Trump's remarks at a press conference.
A journalist asked Trump what actions he wanted to see from Ukraine before deciding on the license, and reminded him of his earlier comments expressing uncertainty. Trump responded that no agreement has been reached so far and the matter is still being discussed. He stressed that transferring such technologies is very complicated, and added that he does not believe it will ever happen because the missiles could potentially be turned against the United States itself.
The president said Washington must be extremely careful about sharing the weapon's secrets, noting that the technology cannot simply be replicated. He also mentioned the need to speed up production, as most of the systems have already been delivered.
Earlier, on July 8, Volodymyr Zelensky met with Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit. After the talks, the US president had indicated that America could allow Ukraine to set up its own production of Patriot interceptor missiles. The latest comments suggest a reversal of that position.
