Trump made ‘final decision’ to give Ukraine Patriot licence: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday (September 25, 2026) said U.S. President Donald Trump told him he would allow Ukraine to produce advanced Patriot air defence missiles, after a series of reversals on the issue.

Kyiv is facing a shortage of the missiles, needed to counter Russia’s increasing drone and missile attacks on the country, the latest of which killed a 14-year-old boy in the capital on Friday (September 25, 2026).

Mr. Zelenskyy during his latest visit to the United States this week renewed calls for air defence support, and for the Patriots, which remain the only system reliably able to counter Russia’s powerful ballistic missiles.

“At our last meeting, President Trump emphasised to me that yes, I have made a final decision. Ukraine will receive licences for the production of Patriot missiles,” he said in a voice note to journalists.

In July, Mr. Trump said it would be “pretty cool” to grant Ukraine the licences, before backtracking, saying the United States should be “very careful” before granting Ukraine authorisation.

Ukraine has reported an acute shortage of Patriot interceptors since the United States and Israel went to war with Iran in February, diverting supplies of the advanced systems.

Even if the licences are granted, establishing industrial capacity would require more than a year and would not meet Kyiv’s immediate needs.

And Kyiv, preparing for winter, has renewed calls for urgent support. It needs 5% of the United States’ Patriot interceptor missiles to get through the winter and 10 percent to destroy all of Russia’s ballistic projectiles, Mr. Zelenskyy said last month.