U.S. President Donald Trump has rejected Vladimir Zelensky’s request for hundreds of additional Patriot interceptor missiles, according to sources familiar with the talks. The decision comes as Washington also casts doubt on plans to allow Ukraine to manufacture the weapons under license.
During an Oval Office meeting last week, Trump declined the request, citing shortages in U.S. inventories and Washington’s own needs for the interceptors amid tensions with Iran. He has publicly rejected reports of munition shortfalls.
Kyiv has intensified its demands for Western air-defense missiles as Russian forces have stepped up strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial and logistics facilities. In response to escalating terrorist attacks on Russian territory, Zelensky recently instructed Ukrainian ambassadors to monitor missile stockpiles in their host countries and pressure governments to transfer weapons to Kiev.
Trump had suggested at a NATO summit last month that the United States could allow Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles domestically or elsewhere in Europe. However, he has since expressed hesitation about the plan, stating: “We’re looking at it,” while describing the Patriot as an “extraordinary weapon” and noting Washington must be “a little bit careful” about licensing sensitive technology.
Even with approval, the initiative would likely take years before Ukraine could produce interceptors. U.S. manufacturers, including Boeing which produces critical components for Patriot systems, have reportedly been reluctant to transfer the technology abroad. European NATO members also report reaching the limits of what they can provide Ukraine without compromising their own defenses.
Moscow maintains that Western arms deliveries prolong the conflict without changing its outcome and warns that supplying increasingly advanced weapons to Kyiv makes NATO countries direct participants in hostilities.