Trump says US will give Ukraine licence to build Patriot missiles

Trump said on Wednesday that Washington would give Ukraine "the right to make" Patriot air-defence missiles.

"We're going to give a licence to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool, right. This way, you can't complain that we're not giving them enough," Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded for the US-made interceptors, the only weapon capable of shooting down ballistic projectiles fired by Russia.

Ukraine to test French-Italian alternative to US Patriot missiles

Trump gave no specifics on how the missiles would be made in Ukraine.

"I think they can produce it pretty quickly. Once we explain it, we'll bring the company here. You work with the company," he said.

The Patriot missile system was developed by Raytheon, but the main contractor that builds the missiles is Lockheed Martin. Both companies have joint ventures with European missile maker MBDA.

In a shift from his previous harsh criticism of Zelensky, Trump said the two had developed a "very good" relationship, and that both Ukraine and Russia wanted to end the war.

"The president wants to get it done, and I believe that President Putin wants to get it done, and that should be a good combination," he said.

Russia's foreign ministry on Wednesday denounced NATO's decision at the summit to provide military aid to Ukraine, saying it could have catastrophic consequences. 

(with newswires)