US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet decided whether to allow Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, casting doubt on whether Washington will approve one of Kyiv's key defence priorities, Trump told in statement with the Financial Times, Ukrainska Pravda reports.
Trump said he was "not sure" whether Washington would grant Ukraine a licence to manufacture Patriot missiles, adding that "we're looking at it".
"It's a very extraordinary weapon, and . . . we have to be a little bit careful of who we license to. We don't really license equipment."
Trump's comments came just two days after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. Zelenskyy described the meeting as "good" and said the two leaders had discussed "Patriot interceptor production and several other ideas".
Earlier in July, at the NATO summit in Türkiye, the US president said Washington would grant Kyiv a licence to produce Patriot missiles.
"The Patriot air-defence system is vital for Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian ballistic missiles that are targeting Kyiv and other cities. Persuading Trump to consider allowing Kyiv to produce the missiles represents a significant achievement for Zelenskyy."
Trump also told the FT that his focus is on ending Russia's war against Ukraine. He added that his two envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, would make their first visit to Ukraine in the coming days.
"Very simply put, we want the war in Ukraine with Russia ended.
I'm not looking for missiles. We're looking for peace."
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