Trump Still Not ‘Sure’ about Granting Patriot Production License to Ukraine

US President Donald Trump said he has not yet decided whether Washington will allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles, raising uncertainty over one of Kyiv’s key defense priorities.In a phone interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, Trump said he was “not sure” whether the United States would grant Ukraine a license to produce the missiles.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“We’re looking at it,” Trump said. “It’s a very extraordinary weapon, and we have to be a little bit careful of who we license it to. We don’t really license equipment.”Comments differ from earlier statementsTrump’s remarks come just two days after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, where the Ukrainian leader said the two discussed domestic production of Patriot interceptor missiles.Following the meeting, Zelensky said Trump had “accepted that he will give us licences” and described the talks as productive. He added that Ukraine was working with manufacturers on potential joint production of Patriot interceptors.The US president had also said during the NATO summit earlier this month that Washington would allow Ukraine to produce the missiles.Patriot production is a key Ukrainian priorityThe Patriot air defense system remains Ukraine’s primary protection against Russian ballistic missile attacks targeting Kyiv and other cities.Securing permission to manufacture Patriot interceptors domestically has become one of Kyiv’s top defense priorities as Russia continues large-scale aerial attacks. Other Topics of Interest ‘Reckless’ Russia Condemned as Missile with ‘Significant’ Payload Crashes in Poland NATO described the incident as “another reckless act by Russia.” Lockheed Martin and RTX manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles.Trump says focus remains on ending the warTrump told the Financial Times that his priority remains ending Russia’s war against Ukraine rather than expanding weapons production.“Very simply put, we want the war in Ukraine with Russia ended,” Trump said. “I’m not looking for missiles. We’re looking for peace.”He also said his envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, would travel to Ukraine soon for their first visit to the country. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.