Trump responds positively to idea of establishing production of US anti-ballistic missiles under license – Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy notes that U.S. President Donald Trump has responded positively to the proposal to grant Ukraine licenses to produce anti-ballistic missiles and hopes that Trump will agree to such a step.
In an interview following his meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, on Tuesday, the Ukrainian president said that earlier, the U.S. president "was very confident that they could help us more with missiles." "This is truly a major challenge, because production capacity is not as large as our needs. Production takes place in the United States," Zelenskyy said.
He added that during his conversation with Trump, he raised the issue of licenses. "I told President Trump: we need licenses to produce missiles. We have various capabilities to produce Patriot systems and missiles. And I've had many meetings and calls with the company [the manufacturer], with their leadership, CEOs, and so on… In any case, we want to increase their production, provided everything goes well with them and if President Trump supports this idea. But for now, he was positive about it in any case," Zelenskyy said.
At the same time, the President of Ukraine noted that Europe should try to develop its own European missile defense system, "which must be powerful, and preferably less expensive." "Otherwise, we'll have a shortage. Otherwise, Europe won't have enough. Otherwise, the Middle East won't have enough. I don't know about Asia; I don't know their needs or what they want, but I'm talking about the countries I know and their needs. That's why this is an important alternative that we'll be working on," he said.
When a journalist asked for clarification on whether Trump's response to this proposal was "yes," Zelenskyy replied: "It was positive. And I hope that if President Trump is in a positive frame of mind, I hope it will be 'yes.'"
Earlier, Zelenskyy said that during his meeting with Trump, he discussed the issue of obtaining licenses to manufacture anti-ballistic missiles, the demand for which currently far exceeds U.S. production capacity. He also noted that during meetings with other summit participants, he spoke about Ukraine's need for additional air defense systems.
As previously reported, in late May, Zelenskyy said that U.S. production of anti-ballistic missiles was insufficient and that Ukraine was critically dependent on them. According to him, Germany holds some licenses to manufacture such missiles, and he has repeatedly appealed to the U.S. to grant Ukraine licenses to increase production of missiles for the Patriot systems, which, the president said, would be very beneficial for Ukraine, the Middle East, and "anyone the United States decides to help."
According to the President of Ukraine, Russia is increasing its domestic production of ballistic missiles, while U.S. production of missile defense systems is insufficient. "We need to increase production. I know all the companies in the United States – huge companies, large companies – but only the United States can produce such quantities. Sixty to sixty-five missiles a month is nothing given today's challenges. Russia knows this; it's not classified information. We need to expand production," Zelenskyy said.
A Russian drone damaged the containment structure of Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant's Unit 4 back in 2025. Zelenskyy stated at the time that approximately EUR 500 million would be needed for a major overhaul of the sarcophagus.
In April of this year, the U.S. expressed its readiness to provide up to $100 million as part of a joint G7 effort to repair the new sarcophagus at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. In June, Norway announced the allocation of more than EUR 9 million for the restoration of the sarcophagus through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)'s International Chornobyl Cooperation Account (ICCA).