Listen to the article. Auto-generated audio text from an automated system.

0:00

Two minutes to read

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that agreements on "technical aspects" still need to be reached before Ukraine can begin producing missiles for Patriot systems.

The Ukrainian president was speaking after meeting his US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Thursday in Ankara.

Trump announced in a press statement in the presence of Zelenskyy on Wednesday that he would allow Kyiv to manufacture missiles for these systems, which are essential for intercepting Russian ballistic missiles targeting Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said in an audio message responding to journalists' questions that Ukraine and the United States had reached a political-level agreement on licenses to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, and that both sides still have work related to technical details.

He added: "After our agreement with Trump, our teams, diplomats, and the foreign and defense ministries must now finalize all remaining technical details."

Zelenskyy also stated that Ukraine will receive important PAC-3 interceptor missiles from the United States in the coming days.

He described his meeting with Trump as "constructive," despite the long-standing tension in their relationship.

Trump did not mention the conditions or timeline for granting a license to manufacture PAC-3 missiles for Patriot systems. It remains unclear whether Ukraine has the capability to produce these expensive missiles in the near term.

Zelenskyy said on Thursday that he wants to work on acquiring this capability "as soon as possible and start production in Ukraine."

However, manufacturing these missiles on Ukrainian soil will take several years and will not meet Kyiv's urgent needs, especially as the war in the Middle East depletes US stockpiles.

According to the US research center FPRI, manufacturing a PAC-3 MSE missile takes 24 months, while its engine takes 30 months.

Advertorial

Advertorial

Read also: 'Swiss Re: AI investments reach $750 billion by 2026; complex risks associated with rapid data center expansion require more innovative solutions' Economy; 'Moroccan Bouaddi sets historic record in World Cup against France; Moroccan Ayub Bouaddi becomes second youngest player in World Cup history to start a match in...' Sports; 'US official: We will oversee Israel's withdrawal from experimental zones in Lebanon; US: first experimental zone from which Israel withdraws in Lebanon to be determined within days' Arab and World