Trump plans to ask US arms firms to produce air defense missiles under license in Ukraine, Zelensky says
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U.S. President Donald Trump plans to ask U.S. weapons manufacturers to produce air defense missiles under production licenses in Ukraine and Europe, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a June 21 interview.
"President Trump plans to ask American defense companies to manufacture missiles for air defense systems under licenses in Europe and Ukraine," he said.
Kyiv and its allies discussed the possibility of Ukraine producing Western weapons under license at the most recent Group of Seven (G7) summit that took place June 15-17.
Leaders in a joint statement said the countries are "ready to consider extending to Ukraine the benefit of licenses to allow for an increase in Ukraine's military production."
"This time, it became quite public that the American team, for the first time, responded positively to the licenses," Zelensky said in the June 21 interview.
The most recent G7 summit was the first meeting where all members unanimously supported Ukraine, he said.
"During the summit, all the G7 members were aware of our operation in Moscow Oblast, had seen the results, and supported Ukraine's absolutely justified and appropriate responses."
Ukrainian forces struck the Moscow Oil Refinery in the Russian capital's Kapotnya district overnight on June 18, marking the largest attack on the Russian capital since the start of the full-scale war, according to Russian authorities.
The Ukrainian strikes on Moscow followed Russia's June 15 attack on Kyiv that struck the Main Cathedral of the Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine's iconic 11th-century monastery.
"Everyone agrees that we currently have all the technical capabilities to start producing missiles for the Patriot systems. For this, we need licenses from the United States," Zelensky said.
