Zelensky pursues Patriot missile licences in White House meeting with Trump
The Ukrainian president eyes weapons co-production and renewed diplomacy with the Trump administration
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought licences to produce Patriot air-defence interceptors during a “good meeting” with US counterpart Donald Trump on Tuesday, as he underscored Russia’s Vladimir Putin’s loss of initiative on the war front due to heavy losses.
Zelensky spent just over an hour with Trump at the White House, in talks that came with Kyiv and Moscow intensifying long-range strikes as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war stalled.
“Today we had good meeting with President Trump,” Zelensky told Fox News host Sean Hannity in a broadcast interview late Tuesday.
“He accepted that he will give us (Patriot) licences, and then I had meeting with representatives of production, very strong military companies of the United States. I hope that we will do co-production,” he continued.
After the meeting, Trump posted photos to social media with a note that said “Many things were discussed. The meeting went very well!”
Relations between Zelensky and Trump have warmed since the start of the US president’s second term, with Trump suggesting earlier this month that Ukrainian strikes inside Russia could help end the war.