Trump declines to confirm Zelensky’s claim of a U.S. decision on Patriot missile production license

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday refused to say whether he has agreed to let Ukraine produce its own Patriot interceptor missiles, just a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that such a decision had been reached.

Zelensky’s statement came Friday, following the two leaders’ meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 22. According to the Ukrainian president, Trump had told him: “Yes, I’ve made a final decision. Ukraine will receive a license to produce Patriot missiles.”

Asked Saturday by CNN before departing the White House for a college football game in Tennessee, Trump confirmed they had discussed interceptors but deflected, urging both sides to reach a deal. “We talked about a lot of different topics… But you know what I want him to do? Make a deal. I want him to come to an agreement with Putin, and I want Putin to come to an agreement with him,” the U.S. president said.

CNN has asked the White House for clarification on the contradictory statements but has not yet received a response.

Patriot interceptors are among the few weapons capable of shooting down ballistic missiles, and the global shortage has hit Ukraine hard. Zelensky has long sought U.S. permission for Ukraine to produce them itself, pointing to Trump’s signals in July that such a deal — likely with American companies — was possible. In his UN speech, Zelensky called Russian President Vladimir Putin “patient zero.”

Without Patriot interceptors, Ukraine has struggled to cope with recent Russian attacks. On Friday, seven people were killed in daytime drone strikes on Kyiv, as CNN reports.