The President says that the agreement was confirmed at the last meeting. The licensing terms and the production schedule have not yet been announced.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on 25 September that Donald Trump had taken the final decision to grant Ukraine licences to manufacture interceptor missiles for the Patriot system. He made this announcement following a meeting with the US President on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. The parties did not specify a timeline for the transfer of the licences or the start of production.
Briefly about the main points
- Zelenskyy announced that Trump had agreed to grant a licence for Patriot missiles.
- The agreement does not mean that production in Ukraine has already begun.
- The type of interceptors, the scale and the timetable for the project have not been disclosed.
- The State Department had said two days earlier that discussions were ongoing.
- The US has proposed a trilateral meeting with Russia in the UAE.
The President relayed Trump’s comments on licences
According to Zelensky, the US President confirmed during the latest talks: «I have made a final decision — Ukraine will receive licences to manufacture Patriot missiles.» This statement was also reported by the publication «ArmyInform».
For several months, Kyiv had been raising the issue of both additional supplies of interceptors and obtaining authorisation for their production. Missiles for Patriot which Ukraine needs to counter Russian air attacks, in particular ballistic strikes.
Political agreement does not yet mean that the production line will be launched
The President’s statement relates to the future granting of licences, not to documents that have already been handed over or the start of missile production in Ukraine. Licensing and actual production are separate stages.
The public statement does not specify which missiles will be covered by the agreement, nor does it detail the production volumes or the production schedule. It is therefore impossible to determine from the published reports when Ukraine will receive its first domestically produced interceptors.
The manufacture of US defence products overseas requires US export control procedures. Such agreements may cover technical data, assembly work and manufacturing rights.
Public statements from Kyiv and Washington were made on different days
On 23 September, a spokesperson for the State Department Jan Bateson He told DW that no final decision had yet been made regarding the production of Patriot missiles in Ukraine, and that discussions were ongoing. Zelenskyy’s statement came later, so the parties’ public assessments currently differ.
In July Trump had already spoken of his willingness to grant such authorisation. At the same time, on 31 July, he stated that USA Ukraine’s missile production has not yet been agreed, Reuters reported. CNN contacted the White House for comment on Zelenskyy’s latest remarks, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
The US has proposed a separate format for talks with Russia
Zelenskyy also announced a proposal from the US to hold a trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, the United States and Russia. Washington has suggested the United Arab Emirates as a possible venue.
The date of the talks has not yet been set. Ukraine will discuss the details with its European partners, whilst the US side is to hold talks with Russia.
