Ukraine is awaiting a response from the U.S. regarding the Patriot system
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is awaiting a positive decision from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding licenses for the production of missiles for the Patriot systems. According to the head of state, this will help better protect Ukrainian cities from Russian ballistic attacks and strengthen security not only in Ukraine but throughout Europe.
The president emphasized that the issue of strengthening air defense will be one of the main topics at the upcoming NATO summit and other international talks. Ukraine also continues to work with its partners to increase the production of air defense systems.
Following another massive Russian attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv is awaiting a positive response from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the granting of licenses to produce missiles for Patriot systems. The head of state made this statement in his evening address.
According to Zelenskyy, one of the main tasks at present is to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense. He is convinced that this should be one of the key outcomes of the upcoming NATO summit and negotiations with international partners. “That is, of course, if NATO still means anything to its allies. Europe must have its own sufficient capacity to defend itself against all types of threats, including this one—from Russian ballistic missiles,” the president said.
Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine has been negotiating with the U.S. administration for quite some time regarding licenses to manufacture missiles for Patriot systems. He also expressed separate gratitude to the countries that are already supporting Ukraine through the PURL program. It is this mechanism that allows for the procurement of missiles for air defense systems, specifically for the Patriot system.
However, the president emphasized that procurement alone is not enough. In his view, Ukraine, together with its European partners, must be given the opportunity to produce such missiles on its own. “But to truly and reliably protect lives, we need our own production. European production here, in Ukraine, or in collaboration with our partners, would of course also support the United States in operations when needed. We are counting on a positive response from President Trump to protect lives,” Zelenskyy said.
The president emphasized that developing our own production of modern air defense systems will allow us to respond more quickly to new threats and make the defense of Ukraine’s airspace more reliable. According to him, following the latest massive Russian attacks, the issue of strengthening air defense has become even more pressing, as Patriot systems remain one of the most effective means of intercepting ballistic missiles today. The president said this in an evening address on Thursday.
Ukraine appealed to 40 partner countries in July, requesting the urgent transfer of missiles for the Patriot systems. The Ministry of Defense explains that stocks are running low, and these systems remain the primary means of defense against Russian ballistic missiles.
