KATHMANDU: US President Donald Trump has decided to allow Ukraine to produce advanced Patriot air defense missiles on its own soil, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. According to Zelenskyy, this decision will grant Ukraine the necessary licenses to manufacture the systems domestically.
The Patriot system is considered highly effective at intercepting ballistic missiles launched by Russia, yet Kyiv has faced a significant shortage of these interceptors. Zelenskyy stated that during their recent meeting, President Trump confirmed his final decision to authorize the production. Trump had previously suggested in July that such authorization would be appropriate, though he later noted that the US needed to exercise caution regarding the matter.
Ukraine has faced a critical shortage of Patriot interceptors since February, when some supplies were diverted following conflicts involving the US, Israel, and Iran. Despite the new production approval, the move is unlikely to address immediate needs. Establishing new industrial production capacity could take more than a year, prompting Kyiv to continue urging the US for urgent military support ahead of the upcoming winter.
Kyiv has expressed concerns that Russia will renew its campaign of strikes against Ukraine’s power and heating infrastructure during the winter months. Zelenskyy stated last month that Ukraine requires five percent of the US Patriot interceptor supply to survive the winter and ten percent to block all Russian ballistic launches. In parallel, Ukraine is working on developing its own ballistic missile defense system, known as ‘Freyam’.
