US President Donald Trump has given his blessing for Ukraine to begin domestic production of Patriot air-defence missiles. Trump stated that Washington would give Kyiv the right to manufacture the long-range missiles, which Ukraine has repeatedly requested to protect its cities and energy grid from Russian strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted on Thursday that technical details still need to be finalised with the United States before Kyiv can start manufacturing the missiles. The effort comes as Ukraine's dwindling interceptor stockpiles have been outstripped by Russia's deadly ballistic missile attacks.
Despite the agreement, the manufacturing process remains a significant challenge. Experts say it takes two years to produce one of the world’s most sophisticated air-defence interceptors.