Trump Says He Never Agreed to Licensed Production of Ukraine's Patriot Missiles

[Financial News]  

Donald Trump, President of the United States, said on the 31st of last month, local time, that he had never agreed to licensed production of Ukraine's Patriot missiles.
The move is expected to deal a serious blow to Ukraine's plan to strengthen its air defense network through domestic production amid a shortage of MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile systems in the United States.
According to CNBC and other foreign media outlets, Trump said at the Cabinet meeting that such advanced military technology as Patriot missile production is "hard to hand over." He added that a country receiving the technology could "one day turn its back."
Trump stressed that he must be "very cautious" about transferring such advanced military technology.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited The White House for a summit three days ago and said afterward that he had a "good meeting" regarding licensed production of Patriot missiles, suggesting that domestic production could be possible.
Trump had also hinted at that possibility. At the NATO summit in Türkiye in early July, he suggested that the United States would grant Ukraine a Patriot license.
However, the mood suddenly changed direction on the 30th of last month.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said he was "not sure" whether Ukraine should be allowed to produce the "unmatched weapon."
In the end, he made it clear at the Cabinet meeting the next day that he had never agreed to licensed production.
[email protected] Song Kyung-jae Reporter