Trump declines to say if Ukraine can manufacture Patriot missiles to fend off Russian attacks
By Logan Schiciano, Julia Benbrook, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Saturday declined to say whether he agreed to allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missiles to fend off Russian attacks, an assertion made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a day earlier.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York earlier this week. Zelensky told reporters on Friday that during their meeting Trump said that Ukraine “will receive a license to manufacture Patriot missiles.”
But when asked by CNN on Saturday about a potential licensing agreement, Trump confirmed he and Zelensky spoke about the critical interceptors but shifted the focus of his answer toward calling on Ukraine and Russia to make a deal to end the conflict.
“We talked about a lot of different subjects, and many of those subjects… very strong agreement,” Trump said about the meeting, just before leaving the White House to attend a college football game in Tennessee. “But you know what I want him to do? Make a deal. I want him to settle with Putin, and I want Putin to settle with him.”
CNN has reached out to the White House for clarification on Trump’s comments.
Patriot interceptors are among the few weapons capable of taking ballistic missiles down. But a recent global supply crunch prompted dozens of countries to rush to reinforce their defense systems, seriously affecting Ukraine’s supply.
Zelensky has long pushed for the US to allow Ukraine to manufacture the interceptors, seizing on indications by Trump in July that such an arrangement, likely involving US companies, is possible.
During his speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Zelensky called Russian President Vladimir Putin “patient zero,” saying the more freedom Russia’s president has to act, “the more dangerous the world becomes for everyone else.”
Without Patriot interceptors, Ukraine has struggled to fend off a recent onslaught of Russian attacks, seeing the country’s death toll significantly rise, including seven deaths on Friday during a series of daytime drone strikes in Kyiv.
CNN’s Charlotte Reck contributed to this story.
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