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Ukraine's ambassador to Washington issued an urgent appeal Thursday for anti-ballistic missile supplies ahead of winter, even as U.S. President Donald Trump cast doubt on one of Kyiv's central defense requests, saying he had not decided whether to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot interceptors domestically.
Olha Stefanishyna, speaking at an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, described a dire nightly reality: Russia was firing between 30 and 40 ballistic missiles at Ukraine per overnight attack. "The devastating effect of every overnight attack right now is unbelievable," she said.
While Ukrainian forces had succeeded in countering Iranian- and Russian-built drones, she said the country had not yet developed an effective defense against ballistic missiles, whose production Russian President Vladimir Putin was rapidly expanding. "He has an intention to destroy Ukraine," Stefanishyna said. "We have been successful in everything, but so far, for this winter, we need the missiles."
The ambassador's comments came two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Trump at the White House in a session that touched on Patriot interceptor production and broader diplomatic efforts to end the war.
Zelenskyy described the meeting as "good" and said afterward that Trump "accepted that he will give us licences," adding that he had met separately with representatives from Patriot manufacturers and hoped to move toward co-production.
Trump told the Financial Times on Thursday that he remained undecided. "It's a very extraordinary weapon, and we have to be a little bit careful of who we license to.
We don't really license equipment," he said, adding only that "we're looking at it." In early July, at the NATO summit in Türkiye, Trump had said Washington would grant Kyiv such a license, making his latest remarks a notable step back.
Stefanishyna said Ukraine was in active discussions with the Pentagon about a license to manufacture Patriot PAC-3 missiles itself, but acknowledged the process could take anywhere from 12 months to five years.
A parallel option was also under discussion: Ukraine agreeing to a long-term purchase of PAC-3 missiles and then swapping positions in the production queue with another buyer to accelerate delivery.
On the industry side, officials from Raytheon had already visited Ukraine, and Lockheed Martin, which builds the PAC-3 interceptors used in the Patriot system, was working to send a team of experts to the country as well, she said.
Both companies make components of the Patriot system, with Raytheon producing the launcher and the PAC-2 variant, and Lockheed manufacturing the more advanced PAC-3 interceptors.
Licensed domestic production, while not without precedent, carries significant lead times, given the complexity of the missile's components and the need to qualify an entirely new supply chain.
Trump told the FT his focus was on ending the conflict rather than arming Ukraine further. "Very simply put, we want the war in Ukraine with Russia ended," he said. "I'm not looking for missiles. We're looking for peace."
On the diplomatic front, Stefanishyna said a visit to Kyiv by U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could come as early as next week, though no date had been set.
Trump confirmed to the FT that his two envoys would make their first trip to Ukraine in the coming days. Zelenskyy had reiterated his offer to freeze the fighting along the current front lines as a starting point for broader negotiations, with Stefanishyna stressing that action was needed before the onset of winter.
Separately, Stefanishyna confirmed Ukrainian media reports that she had offered to step down from her post as ambassador, less than a year after taking it.
She said the offer stemmed from corruption allegations related to personal property declarations, and that she wished to return to Ukraine to address the matter in person. Zelenskyy had not requested her resignation and had asked her to remain in Washington, she said, but she felt it was best for her and her family to "defend my case" directly.
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