U.S. President Donald Trump proposed granting Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot air-defense missiles during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday. Zelenskyy called the proposal a "great idea", saying his country urgently needs the defense systems.
Trump acknowledged the plan has not yet been discussed with manufacturers Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, and noted Ukraine would quickly learn the complexity involved in production. In a separate move to bolster Kyiv's defenses, Norway announced a contribution of 3 billion kroner to Ukraine's air-defense capabilities. Trump said he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin later Wednesday.
The talks come as the war intensifies: Ukrainian drones struck Russian oil refineries in Saratov and Nizhnekamsk overnight, while a Russian missile attack on Kharkiv on July 7 killed two people and wounded roughly 20. Civilian casualties in Ukraine in 2026 remain significantly higher than in the same period last year.