Trump says he's 'not sure' about letting Ukraine build Patriot missiles, contradicting earlier pledge

A promise made in Ankara

In early July, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump appeared to give Ukraine what it had long sought. "We will give them the right to build Patriots. We will show them how to do it," he said, according to AP. He added that he thought "they can produce them pretty quickly." The statement was widely reported as a breakthrough for Ukraine's air defense capabilities.

Zelensky's White House visit

On Tuesday, July 28, Zelensky arrived in Washington for a meeting with Trump at the White House. Afterward, the Ukrainian president told reporters the talks had been productive. "We discussed licenses for the production of Patriot interceptors and some other ideas that could help," he said. Zelensky stated that Trump had "agreed to grant us licenses." For Zelensky, air defense against Russian ballistic missiles is "the absolute priority."

Trump's reversal

But in a telephone interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, July 30, Trump expressed uncertainty. "We're looking at it," he said. "It's an extraordinary weapon and we have to be a little careful who we grant a license to. We don't really grant licenses for equipment." Pressed on whether the license would be granted, he said: "I'm not sure." The remarks directly contradict both his earlier NATO pledge and Zelensky's account of their White House meeting. Trump also noted that "normally we don't grant licenses for these technologies."

Ukraine's critical shortage

Ukraine depends on Patriot systems, specifically the PAC-3 interceptor missiles manufactured by Lockheed Martin and RTX, to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles. June was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022, according to the UN, as Russia intensified its use of ballistic missiles. The shortage of interceptors has grown more acute since the start of the Iran war in February, which drew heavily on US missile stocks. Production of a single PAC-3 missile takes nearly two years, and its engine nearly three years, meaning domestic production would not provide immediate relief even if a license were granted quickly. Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Olha Stefanishyna, said discussions with the Pentagon on licensing were underway but expected a lengthy process. She noted that representatives from Raytheon had already visited Ukraine, and Lockheed Martin was working to send an expert team.

Diplomatic push

Trump also announced that his special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Ukraine in the coming days, their first visit to the country. Both have made multiple trips to Russia since Trump took office in January 2025. "We want the war in Ukraine with Russia to end," Trump said. "I'm not looking for missiles. We're looking for peace."

We want the war in Ukraine with Russia to end. I'm not looking for missiles. We're looking for peace.