Zelensky says technical details remain before Patriot production in Ukraine

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that technical details still needed to be agreed with the US before Patriot air-defence missiles could be produced in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would allow Ukraine to manufacture the missiles, a weapon the country urgently needs to protect its cities from Russian attacks.

“And now, after our agreement with the president, our teams… must agree on all the remaining technical aspects,” Zelensky said, answering a question about the Patriot during a WhatsApp briefing.

Trump did not provide further details or a timeline. Experts say it takes about two years to produce a Patriot missile, one of the world’s most sophisticated air-defence interceptors.

Ukraine’s stockpiles have dwindled since the US-Israeli war with Iran, leaving its cities more exposed to Russian ballistic missile attacks.

Trump also did not indicate whether any immediate Patriot supplies were on the table.

Wednesday’s meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the Nato summit marked a sharp contrast with their acrimonious Oval Office clash last year.

“Our meeting with President Trump was also productive,” Zelensky told journalists, including AFP, during the briefing.

“I am grateful for the positive decision on the licence to manufacture Patriots. We discussed this in detail with the president and with his delegation,” he added.

Exploiting Ukraine’s shortage of air-defence missiles, Russia has intensified its strikes in recent weeks, killing more than 50 people in Kyiv alone so far this month.

On the night of July 5-6, Kyiv’s air defences failed to intercept a single ballistic missile, a worrying development for what had previously been regarded as the country’s best-protected city.

Pending agreements with the manufacturers of the Patriot missile, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, it typically takes up to 24 months to produce the interceptor and about 30 months to manufacture its engine, according to the US Foreign Policy Research Institute.