Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left last week’s NATO summit armed with a valuable commitment from President Donald Trump — that Kyiv would get approval to produce vital interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense system, which since 2023 has helped defend Ukraine’s skies against Russian aircraft, drones and ballistic missiles.
Zelenskyy and his top officials have long warned that Ukraine needs more air defense systems and far more ammunition to blunt Russia’s daily long-range strikes. In recent weeks and with interceptor missile stocks reportedly running low, those warnings have become more dire.
Trump’s approval for Kyiv to get a production license to produce Patriot interceptors on home soil is “really good news for Ukraine,” Chrystia Freeland, previously Canada’s deputy prime minister and now an economic adviser to Zelenskyy, told ABC News on the sidelines of the Chatham House think tank’s conference in London last week.
“It would be even better if they were getting Patriots right now, because they’re being hammered,” Freeland added. “It’s great to get the licenses. But between getting the licenses and actually being able to make the Patriot [missiles] to defend themselves, it’s going to take time. And during that time, lots of people are going to die.”
