ANKARA, July 8 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors, a huge boost for Kyiv, which has long sought permission to produce the defensive weapons.
"We're going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool. This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough," Trump said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the NATO summit in Ankara.
"It's a defensive weapon, which I like better than an offensive weapon," Trump added.
Trump did not provide specifics, but the tone of the meeting was a sharp departure from his past harsh criticism of Zelenskiy, which has included Trump calling him "ungrateful."
On Wednesday, Trump said the two had developed a "very good" relationship and both Moscow and Kyiv wanted to end the war that began with Russia's invasion in February 2022.
Trump said he would be speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin later on Wednesday.
"We've settled a lot of wars, and this one is the one that I thought maybe would be the easiest, but Putin is a difficult character, and this guy's a difficult character," Trump said, referring to Zelenskiy, who was sitting next to him.
Zelenskiy told Trump: "I'm sure you will do everything to stop this war."
Russia's foreign ministry on Wednesday denounced NATO's decisions at the Turkey summit after the alliance announced military aid to Ukraine, saying they could have catastrophic consequences.
It was not immediately clear if any interceptors would be sent to Kyiv in the short term. Two sources familiar with the discussions said the new interceptors would likely be manufactured in Germany or another European country, to avoid providing a target for potential Russian strikes in Ukraine.
"Giving Ukraine a license to produce Patriots will be big if it happens," Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said on X. "But Ukraine needs missile defense interceptors now, and can't wait for the production of them in the future."
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," he 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."
Zelenskiy has repeatedly pleaded for the U.S.-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.
Trump said pressure could be applied to companies to produce Patriot missiles.
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the interceptor missiles that go in the Patriot system, which was developed by another U.S. arms maker Raytheon, and has been in service since the 1980s. Both Lockheed and Raytheon have business ventures together with European missile maker MBDA.
ANNOUNCEMENT WELCOMED IN WASHINGTON
Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's ambassador to Washington, said the meeting in Ankara sent "several important strategic signals" about collaboration between the U.S. and Ukraine and said she looked forward to turning the signals into concrete decisions.
"We highly value the United States’ continued engagement in advancing a path toward a just and lasting peace," Stefanishyna said in a statement.
U.S. lawmakers also praised the announcement. "This is a great decision," Republican Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska said on X. "The manufacturer is currently not keeping up with the needs, and this will surely help."
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said on X that "enabling Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptors will save civilian lives, strengthen its long-term security, & bolster the arsenal of the democratic world."
Charles Lichfield, deputy director of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center, said the announcement would be seen as one of the biggest outcomes of the NATO summit.
"It doesn't change the equation now, but it's symbolic of a change of attitude by Trump," he said. It was unusual for the U.S. to share sensitive technology with a country at war, Lichfield added.
Moscow has stepped up its air war on Ukraine in recent months as its ground advances have largely stalled and Ukrainian attacks on its military logistics and oil industry triggered widespread fuel shortages.
Russia fired ballistic missiles at Kyiv again overnight, officials said on Wednesday, a third attack on the Ukrainian capital in less than a week exploiting Ukraine's critical shortage of U.S.-made air-defence interceptors.
While Ukraine's air defences intercepted 139 of the 169 drones during the overnight strikes on the country, they were again unable to down any of the five ballistic missiles used by Russia, air force data showed.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Gram Slattery in Ankara and Katharine Jackson and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Writing by Katharine Jackson and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Michelle Nichols, Don Durfee, Deepa Babington, Alistair Bell and Jamie Freed)
