Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims the White House will finally give his military a weapons production license he has been pursuing for months.
Zelensky told Ukrainian media on Friday that President Donald Trump verbally confirmed to him on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week that Ukraine will be approved to produce advanced Patriot air defense missiles.
“There are concrete agreements in place,” Zekensky told reporters. “At our last meeting, President Trump emphasized to me that ‘Yes, I have made a final decision. Ukraine will receive licenses for the production of Patriot missiles.’”
Trump has not referenced such a promise to Zelensky. The Washington Examiner has reached out to the White House and State Department for comment.
Patriot missiles are developed by U.S. defense contracting firm Raytheon, and the technology, infrastructure, and guiding systems are proprietary assets of the American military.
The missiles are a crucial tool in Ukrainian defense, able to shoot down ballistic missiles fired by Russian forces with cutting-edge targeting capabilities.
Ukraine has suffered a severe shortage of Patriot missiles since the United States became embroiled in its campaign against Iran, creating a supply disruption. Zelensky has pressed for a production license for months, and in July seemed to indicate that it was forthcoming from Washington — but later cooled expectations on the issue.
In August, Zelensky said that just 5% of the U.S. Patriot missiles stockpile could successfully defend Ukraine through the winter.
The license would grant Ukraine clearance to produce Patriot missile defense systems domestically, simplifying and expanding its supply chain for the critical weaponry.
It is not immediately clear if the alleged decision to grant a license is related to a separate comment from Zelensky on Thursday, indicating that a foreign country has agreed to provide a shipment of Patriot systems to Ukraine.
“Today we reached an agreement — I won’t say with whom — on a shipment of missiles for the Patriot systems,” the president said. “It’s an important decision, a very important one. We’ve achieved a result.”
Zelensky has also reported that the White House is interested in arranging yet another trilateral meeting with Ukrainian and Russian delegations.
“The American side has proposed… meeting at a technical level in a three-way format,” Zelensky said in a remote WhatsApp press briefing on Friday. “We are awaiting a proposal from the United States regarding the date, and the United States has suggested the Emirates as a possible location.”
ZELENSKY URGES UN TO RESOLVE UKRAINE WAR BEFORE AI CAN ‘DECIDE WHAT HAPPENS ON THE BATTLEFIELD’
“We will inform and discuss these details with the European side, the Americans will talk to the Russians, and we will return in 10 days with either a new perspective or a result,” he explained.
The Kremlin did not rule out such a meeting on Friday but stopped short of expressing commitment to the idea.