Trump's NATO envoy arrives in Kyiv for talks on Patriot missiles, drone deal
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The U.S. envoy to NATO, Matt Whitaker, has arrived in Kyiv to discuss Patriot missile deliveries and the upcoming U.S.-Ukraine drone deal, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 22.
"We had a good talk — first and foremost on how to protect Ukrainian skies with more Patriot interceptor supplies through PURL," Zelensky said, referring to the NATO initiative through which allies buy U.S. military hardware for Ukraine.
Ukraine has been grappling with shortages of Patriot PAC-3 interceptors, essential for countering Russian ballistic missiles, just as Moscow escalates its aerial campaign.
Whitaker is visiting Kyiv alongside U.S. General Curtis Buzzard, head of NATO's Ukraine mission, as the Trump administration signals a more supportive approach to Ukraine after months of uncertainty.
While U.S. President Donald Trump halted nearly all military aid to Kyiv after taking office last year, the U.S. leadership has more recently signaled interest in developing defense-industrial cooperation.
Trump, in a meeting with Zelensky at the NATO summit in Ankara earlier in July, announced for the first time that Washington would grant Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot interceptors.
He also said the U.S. would join the growing list of countries purchasing Ukraine's drones, an area in which Kyiv has emerged as a global leader amid its war with Russia.
Zelensky noted that his discussion with Whitaker built upon an agreement made with the U.S. president in Turkey on Patriot licenses, but also focused on the drone deal, "which our teams are now working through."
