The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed this Thursday that "in the coming days" his country will receive new Patriot missiles from the United States, as agreed during the NATO summit held this week in Ankara, Turkey, where Washington has announced that it will grant Kyiv the license to produce this weaponry.
"It has been a productive summit for Ukraine. In the coming days, we will receive a package from the United States. We have also reached separate agreements with the Europeans," Zelensky told the press, emphasizing the importance of Western support.
Zelensky also alluded to the agreement reached with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, through which Ukraine will finally be granted the manufacturing rights for Patriot missiles, long demanded by Kyiv.
"It is now very important that our technical groups, all our representatives from the various ministries, from the Executive Branch, begin to work on this without pause, so that we receive the licenses as soon as possible and begin production in Ukraine," he stressed, as reported by Ukrinform, highlighting the urgency of launching the national production line.
One of the milestones for Ukraine at this Alliance meeting in the Turkish capital was Donald Trump's decision to authorize these licenses for them to manufacture this type of projectile, in a context of missile shortages in the country, which is also facing a renewed wave of Russian attacks.
"We are going to grant you a license to manufacture Patriot missiles," Trump told Zelensky during the meeting they held on the sidelines of this summit, which served to showcase a certain harmony between the two leaders, after a long period marked by disagreements and reproaches.
Trump praised the capabilities of the Ukrainian forces, as well as Zelensky's "impressive work," and expressed his confidence that Ukraine will be able to organize the production of these Patriot missiles on its own.
In recent months, Zelensky has reiterated the need for the United States to allow Ukraine to build its own Patriot missiles, at a time when the Ukrainian army faces serious difficulties in supplying its air defense systems with sufficient ammunition, given the inability of its allies to fully meet Kyiv's demands.