Zelenskyy: US recognizes Ukraine as country ready to produce Patriot
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the United States President Donald Trump for the positive decision to grant Ukraine a license for the production of Patriot systems.
"Thank you for the positive decision regarding the license for the production of Patriot. We discussed this in detail with the President and his delegation. President Trump repeatedly emphasized that today only 2–3 countries in the world can produce Patriot because others are not technologically ready. Ukraine has been recognized by America as a country that is ready to do this," Zelenskyy told journalists on Thursday.
The President reported that Ukraine and the United States are resolving the issue of localizing Patriot production in Ukraine at the political level.
"Regarding the production of Patriot in Ukraine, we are resolving this issue politically," he said.
According to the President, the next stage should involve technical teams and representatives from relevant ministries working on obtaining the necessary licenses to begin production.
"Now it is very important for our technical teams, all our representatives from various ministries, and representatives of the executive branch to start working on this without any pauses, so that we obtain the licenses very quickly, as quickly as possible, and begin production in Ukraine," Zelenskyy noted.
He also stated Ukraine's interest in cooperating with the Japanese company Mitsubishi, which manufactures missiles for Patriot systems under the United States license.
"We know what the Mitsubishi company does. It demonstrates a very high level of Patriot missile production. Today, this is perhaps the strongest example of how to roll out the production of one's own anti-ballistic capabilities after receiving an American license," the President said.
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine would like to see Mitsubishi among its partners in implementing the relevant projects.
"We would like to see them in Ukraine, certainly, with pleasure. We would like to exchange experience, but this depends on the desire of the Japanese side. We highly respect Japan, its technologies, and its development. We are ready to share our developments and our technologies. I am confident that in many areas we will share a common vision," he said.