President Donald Trump said he has not yet decided whether to allow Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles, and called on both Ukraine and Russia to make concessions, according to Israeli media reports. The statement, made Friday evening, further walks back a July 8 announcement that the U.S. would grant such a license, and follows his earlier denial Friday that he had approved the deal.
President Donald Trump said Friday evening that he has not yet decided whether to allow Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles, and called for both Kyiv and Moscow to make concessions. The remarks, reported by Israeli media, come roughly 30 minutes after Trump denied having approved a production license for Ukraine, as The Zioneer reported at 19:27 Jerusalem.
The latest statement continues a rapid reversal that began Friday. Earlier in the day, Trump told the Financial Times he was "not sure" about the plan. He then explicitly denied approving the license, according to N12's Asaf Rozentzweig. These statements walk back Trump's July 8 announcement that the U.S. would grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptors, as The Zioneer reported at 21:46 Jerusalem. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had pressed for the approval amid reports that Ukraine had exhausted its interceptor stockpile.
The call for both sides to "give up" signals a shift in Trump's framing, urging compromise from Ukraine alongside Russia, rather than a unilateral U.S. concession to Kyiv. The Zioneer reported on June 21 that Zelensky said Trump intended to set up Patriot production lines in Ukraine and Europe. On July 28, The Zioneer reported on the White House meeting between Zelensky and Trump, where the discussions centered on air defense and licensed production of Patriot interceptors.
It remains unclear whether Trump will ultimately approve the license. The president's statements have shifted repeatedly within a single day, and no formal decision has been announced.
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