Zelensky says Trump made 'final' decision on Patriot production licenses for Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on September 25 that US President Donald Trump told him on September 22, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, that he had made a final decision to grant Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot air defense missiles. Trump has not publicly confirmed the decision, and the US State Department said on September 23 that no final decision had been taken. Zelensky did not specify which Patriot variant the licenses would cover or when Ukraine could begin production.
Key points
- Zelensky announced Trump's 'final' decision during an online communication with journalists on September 25.
- The decision was communicated at a meeting on September 22 in New York during the UN General Assembly high-level week.
- The US State Department said on September 23 that Washington had not yet made a final decision on granting the licenses.
- Trump himself has not publicly confirmed granting the licenses; when asked, he declined to answer directly and urged Ukraine and Russia to make a deal.
- Zelensky did not specify whether the licenses would cover PAC-2 or PAC-3 interceptors, nor when production could begin.
- Ukrainian sources say the country is negotiating licenses for both PAC-2 and PAC-3 and holding parallel talks with component manufacturers.
- Building domestic missile production capacity in Ukraine would take more than a year, leaving reliance on ready-made interceptors in the near term.
Why it matters
A Patriot production license would, for the first time, give Ukraine domestic capacity to manufacture a key Western air defense system used against Russian missile strikes. Zelensky publicly framed the US approval as 'final,' though Trump has not confirmed the decision publicly and the State Department said on September 23 that no final decision had been made. Even if granted, Ukrainian manufacturers will need significant time to set up production, so demand for ready-made Patriot interceptors from partners continues in the near term. The announcement marks a reversal in tone after earlier US hesitation and reported concerns about technology transfer to Russia.
What happened
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on September 25, during an online communication with journalists, that US President Donald Trump told him at their September 22 meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York that he had made a final decision to grant Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot air defense missiles. Zelensky described the political approval from the US side as 'final' but did not specify which Patriot variant the licenses would cover — the older PAC-2 or the newer PAC-3 — nor when Ukraine could begin production or what volumes the agreement would entail. Trump himself has not publicly confirmed granting the licenses; when asked by reporters, he declined to answer directly and redirected attention to urging Ukraine and Russia to make a deal to end the war. The US State Department said on September 23 that Washington had not yet made a final decision on the licenses, although Trump had said the day before he was positively disposed toward the idea. Zelensky also said Ukrainian manufacturers will need time to set up production processes, leaving the need for continued deliveries of ready-made interceptors in the meantime.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian sources overwhelmingly foreground Zelensky's announcement of a 'final' US decision and frame the story as a diplomatic success from the September 22 meeting in New York. Several Ukrainian reports cite sources in the Office of the President indicating Ukraine is negotiating for both PAC-2 and PAC-3 licenses and note parallel talks with component manufacturers. Ukrainian coverage emphasizes the unresolved details: which variant is covered, when licenses will be delivered, and the gap that domestic production will not close in time, requiring continued deliveries of ready-made interceptors. Many Ukrainian outlets also highlight the contrast between Zelensky's account and the US State Department's September 23 statement that no final decision had been made.
How international sources describe it
The limited non-Ukrainian coverage, including a German outlet and a Spanish-language article sourced from agencies, frames the story in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine and reports Trump's apparent approval more cautiously, without Zelensky's 'final decision' framing. A CNN-sourced Ukrainian article notes that Trump declined to answer directly when asked whether Ukraine could produce Patriot missiles, redirecting attention to urging Ukraine and Russia to make a deal to end the war. International coverage tends to stress the conditional and political nature of the approval and the unresolved timeline rather than presenting it as a concluded deal.
Where reporting differs
Zelensky publicly stated on September 25 that Trump made a 'final' decision to grant Patriot production licenses, but the US State Department said on September 23 that no final decision had been taken, and Trump himself has not publicly confirmed granting the licenses, instead declining to answer directly when asked. Reporting also differs on which missile variants are at issue: Zelensky did not specify whether PAC-2 or PAC-3 is covered, some reporting frames the license as concerning a 'less technologically advanced' Patriot variant, while other reporting cites sources in the Office of the President saying Ukraine is negotiating for both PAC-2 and PAC-3.
Background
PAC-2 is the older Patriot variant produced mainly by Raytheon, with co-production via the COMLOG venture with Germany's MBDA; PAC-3, in CRI and MSE versions, is produced by Lockheed Martin with additional production in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Demand for Patriot systems rose sharply after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, reducing global interceptor stocks. On July 30 the US signed a multi-year $58.6 billion contract with Lockheed Martin for Patriot missile production, and Lockheed Martin plans to triple production rates by 2030. US NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker said on September 18 that the bottleneck on supplying PAC-3 interceptors is production capacity and existing stocks, not funding, and that the situation should improve significantly in about two years. Zelensky has said Ukraine needs 5% of US Patriot stocks to get through the coming winter and 10% to intercept all Russian ballistic missiles, and that Ukraine received roughly three times fewer ballistic-defense interceptors this year than last, with partners citing the Middle East conflict as the official reason.