President Trump has announced he will allow Ukraine to develop its own Patriot air defense systems, a key weapon in the ongoing military conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Global conflict has reduced the supply of defensive weapons developed in the U.S. The lack of defensive weapons has left Ukraine more vulnerable to attacks from Russia, including from ballistic missiles and drones, which have heavily targeted Ukrainian cities.
The president met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. During the meeting, President Trump announced a potential deal to develop a license which would allow Ukraine to develop its own Patriot air defense systems.
“One of the things we’re going to be talking about is we’re going to give a license,” President Trump said. “That’s pretty cool, right? This way, he can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough.”
Since the outbreak of war with Russia in 2022, the Patriot air defense systems have been a key component in Ukraine’s military defense and are one of the only effective means of countering ballistic missiles, which travel faster and at higher altitudes than other missiles or drones. While Ukraine is currently able to shoot down approximately 90 percent of Russian drones and 80 percent of cruise missiles, less than a third of ballistic missiles are taken down.
Russia’s relentless use of ballistic missiles to target Ukraine has been described by Zelensky as a major battle advantage, since ballistic missiles are more difficult to intercept. A development license for Patriot systems could ease supply strain and allow Ukraine to boost its defensive capabilities.
President Trump acknowledged that the development and delivery of weapons systems was slow, especially in light of the U.S. needing its own resources to fend off attacks in the ongoing conflict with Iran.
“If you order a Patriot now, you have to wait a long time for them,” President Trump said. “Same thing with the Tomahawk.”
The president reacted positively to his meeting with Zelenskyy, sharing in a Truth Social post that he thought they might be making progress.
“President Zelenskyy and I just had a News Conference with the Fake News. It went very well,” President Trump said. “Everybody is looking for a solution. Very positive!”
