Donald Trump appears to have performed a U-turn on Patriot missiles, reportedly saying Ukraine may not be allowed to build the US-designed interceptors after all. The US president told the Financial Times on Thursday that he was “not sure” whether Ukraine would be granted a license to produce the weapons, which Kyiv needs to defend itself against Russian high-speed ballistic missile attacks. Trump’s comments come weeks after he said during a NATO summit that the US would give Ukraine “the right to make Patriots”. Kyiv has long sought increased deliveries of the interceptor missiles or the authorization to build its own. Trump told the Financial Times: “It’s a very extraordinary weapon, and… we have to be a little bit careful of who we license to. We don’t really license equipment.” The US leader’s apparent U-turn came days after he met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the White House. Zelenskyy described his Tuesday meeting with Trump as “good” and said that the pair had discussed Kyiv’s need for anti-ballistic missile systems and interceptors, adding that Trump had “accepted that he will give us licenses” to produce Patriot missiles. Ukraine’s arsenal of Patriot interceptors has run low amid increased Russian attacks, while the conflict in Iran has led to a shortage of global stockpiles of the weapons. Trump told the Financial Times: “Very simply put, we want the war in Ukraine with Russia ended… I’m not looking for missiles. We’re looking for peace.” Since starting his second term as president in 2025, Trump has had a rocky relationship with Zelenskyy and has long placed blame on both Kyiv and Moscow for the ongoing war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
