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On July 28, a meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy took place at the White House. The main issue was the Ukrainian president’s request for a license to manufacture interceptor missiles for the Patriot systems. However, just two days later, Trump dashed Kyiv’s optimism by stating in an interview with the Financial Times that the Patriot is an exceptional weapon and that one must be cautious about whom to grant licenses to, hinting at a lack of trust in Ukraine.
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Later, on August 8, Zelenskyy announced on X that agreements had been reached with Trump regarding the granting of licenses, noting that if this had happened four years ago, Ukraine would already be producing missiles for export. Official Washington has not yet confirmed this information. At the same time, granting such a license is a logical step given the development of Ukraine’s defense sector.
Trump’s attitude toward Ukraine has always been inconsistent: after positive developments, phone calls with Vladimir Putin or visits by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow would once again push him back into a hostile stance. Previously, Trump had similarly hesitated at first and then pointedly refused to provide Zelenskyy with Tomahawk missiles during his visit in October.
However, the situation has now changed, and Trump no longer has the leverage to force Kyiv into an unfavorable peace. The U.S. has effectively halted funding: in his first year back in office, Trump cut new military aid to Ukraine by 99%, and Europe has shouldered the main financial burden.
The only thing Ukraine is not yet capable of producing on its own in sufficient quantities is ballistic missile defense systems. During a meeting on July 28, Zelenskyy requested the immediate delivery of several hundred Patriot interceptors, but Trump refused, citing the depletion of U.S. arsenals due to events in the Middle East.
According to journalists, Zelenskyy first requested a license for the Patriot system during Joe Biden’s tenure, but former Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan denied the request without explanation.
Granting the license would make the U.S. both a guarantor of Ukraine’s security and a beneficiary of its production, since after the war, Ukraine could manufacture Patriots for the needs of the U.S. and its allies. While Zelenskyy cites bureaucracy as the main obstacle, the Republican Party notes that manufacturers Raytheon and Lockheed officially cite the risks of technology leaks, but in reality fear that Ukrainians will be able to produce Patriots more cheaply and quickly than American factories.
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