Trump says he will allow Ukraine to make its own Patriot missiles
· France 24US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington would grant Kyiv "the right to make" prized Patriot air-defence systems to repel deadly Russian strikes, without providing a timeline for the pledge.
Ukraine has been struggling to down Russian ballistic missiles since this year's US-Israeli war against Iran drained global supplies of the crucial US-made Patriot interceptors.
"So one of the things we're going to be talking about is we're going to give a licence to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool, right," Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara.
"We haven't informed the company of that yet, but that'll work out all right," he said, without elaborating.
Read moreLive: Trump hails NATO ‘unity’ as alliance members step up defence spending
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the interceptor missiles that go in the Patriot system.
It was not clear whether missiles would be manufactured in Ukraine or in another country.
"It's a defensive weapon, which I like better than an offensive weapon," Trump said
Russia massive attack: 'West simply doesn't have enough interceptors', military expert says
To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.
Accept Manage my choices
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
Try again
Russia's latest missile and drone strikes on Wednesday killed 10 people across Ukraine, including three in the capital Kyiv, local officials said.
Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded for the US-made interceptors – the only weapon in Ukraine's arsenal that can shoot down ballistic projectiles, whose high velocity and steep flight path make them difficult to stop.
Russia has an advantage in ballistic missiles and exploits Ukraine's low stockpiles of Patriots to target Kyiv, Ukrainian military analyst Sergiy Zgurets said.
"This allows the adversary to use such attacks as a means of psychological pressure," he said.
Read moreUkraine's Zelensky signs defence deals with Denmark, Estonia and Netherlands
When asked if the United States would send additional Patriot interceptors immediately, Trump said "some" could be sent immediately and that he thought Ukraine could begin to produce its own quickly.
"We have Patriots, but we don't have that many. We need them for ourselves too," the US president said.
"I think they can produce it pretty quickly. Once we explain it, we'll bring the company here. You work with the company. They have a great ability to produce weapons, pretty complex weapons."
Given the lengthy production times, the licence to make the Patriot, one of the world's most sophisticated air defence missiles, may not immediately solve Ukraine's problems.
According to the US Foreign Policy Research Institute, it would take up to 24 months to produce the air defence missile and 30 months to produce its engine.
Ukraine has in recent months stepped up long-range strikes deep inside Russia, largely targeting oil refineries and other energy infrastructure.
Trump said that those strikes could help to end the war.
"It's an escalation, but it's also an escalation that can help lead to an end," Trump said.
Trump and Zelensky appeared to strike a more cordial tone at the meeting, marking a departure from the acrimonious clash in the Oval Office last year.
"It's hard to believe from the Oval Office to now we've developed a very good relationship," the US president said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)