Trump grants Ukraine licence to build Patriot interceptor missiles

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said US President Donald Trump told him he has made a "final decision" to grant Ukraine licences to produce Patriot air defence interceptor missiles, according to AFP. The announcement follows Trump's earlier reversal of a pledge to allow such production, and comes as Ukraine faces a critical shortage of interceptors, with Zelenskyy previously stating the country has only 10 percent of the missiles needed to counter Russian attacks. Domestic production would take months or over a year to establish, so it won't address immediate needs; Ukraine is developing its own Freya system while Russia intensifies missile barrages targeting civilians and infrastructure ahead of winter.