Trump Backs Away From Ukraine Patriot Production

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States had not agreed to allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors, adding that Washington must be “very careful about letting somebody build them”.

During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey in July, Trump promised Kyiv a license to manufacture Patriot missiles for use against Russian attacks. He has since backed away from that commitment.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting at Camp David, Trump said sharing advanced US military technology was a sensitive issue. He noted that Zelensky was seeking not only Patriot systems but also Tomahawk cruise missiles.

“This is a big step. You have to be very cautious. We haven’t agreed to it yet. We’re discussing it, but it’s very difficult to hand over this kind of technology. The people you give it to might one day turn against you”, Trump said.

Ukraine has long sought a co-production agreement to produce Patriot PAC-3 missiles, which remain the only weapon in its arsenal capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles. Following Trump's initial pledge, Ukrainian officials held talks with the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin about potential cooperation.

(Reuters, sak)