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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said U.S. President Donald Trump agreed during a White House meeting Tuesday to grant Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot air-defense interceptors, as Kyiv seeks additional protection against Russian missile attacks.
Zelenskyy said he and Trump held a productive meeting lasting slightly more than an hour before Ukrainian officials met executives from major U.S. defense companies to discuss joint production.
“He accepted that he will give us licenses, and then I had meeting with representatives of production, very strong military companies of the United States,” Zelenskyy told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “I hope that we will do co-production.”
Zelenskyy said the two leaders began discussing Patriot production licenses during the NATO summit in Ankara earlier this month.
“This is important because we need more and we need them faster,” he said.
Trump said during their meeting in Ankara that Ukraine would be granted the right and licenses to manufacture Patriot systems and would be shown how to produce them.
After Tuesday’s White House meeting, Trump posted photographs on social media and said many issues had been discussed and the meeting had gone “very well.”
A senior Ukrainian official said before the meeting that Kyiv’s priorities included new supplies of anti-ballistic missiles and efforts to revive diplomacy more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
“It is crucial that Washington approve the purchase of a package of Patriot missiles. That is super important,” the official said.
Patriot systems are considered crucial for intercepting Russian strikes, including ballistic missiles that are difficult to stop.
The United Nations said last month was the deadliest for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022 as Russia increased its use of ballistic missiles.
Officials in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson said Wednesday that a man was killed and at least two people were wounded in Russian drone attacks.
Russia said a strike on the southwestern port city of Taganrog killed a woman and injured a man.
Hours before Zelenskyy met Trump, Ukraine launched hundreds of drones toward Russia. Moscow fired more than 100 drones at Ukraine overnight and continued attacks on the port of Odesa and ships carrying Ukrainian agricultural exports.
Zelenskyy said Russian President Vladimir Putin no longer held the initiative in the war because of heavy Russian losses.
“So now Putin is losing 30,000 his soldiers per month,” Zelenskyy said. “It’s many losses, but he doesn’t want to stop this war. So now initiative not in the hands of Putin.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine, Trump and European countries wanted the conflict to end but that Putin did not.
“We want to stop this war,” he said. “President Trump wants, and the Europeans want. But Putin doesn’t want.”
Previous U.S.-led mediation efforts stalled over Ukrainian territory claimed by Russia.
Zelenskyy spoke last week with Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about ways to “reinvigorate diplomacy” after the Middle East war pushed Ukraine negotiations lower on Washington’s agenda.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Monday that negotiations on an aerial ceasefire were underway.
Relations between Trump and Zelenskyy have improved since an Oval Office confrontation in February 2025, when Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of ingratitude and “gambling with World War III.”
During their latest meeting in Ankara, Trump praised Zelenskyy for doing “an amazing job” and offered Ukraine licenses to manufacture Patriot missiles.
Trump has also suggested that Ukrainian strikes inside Russia could help bring the war to an end.
Since returning to office last year, Trump has ended direct U.S. weapons deliveries to Kyiv, instead allowing European countries to purchase weapons for Ukraine.
The U.S. remains a major Ukrainian ally, providing intelligence and access to the Starlink satellite network used for battlefield communications.
Ukraine has recently increased attacks on Russian oil depots, refineries and shipping, contributing to fuel shortages.
Relations between Moscow and Washington have cooled since Trump met Putin in Alaska last August.
During his Washington visit, Zelenskyy also attended a memorial ceremony for Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a prominent supporter of Ukraine who died unexpectedly this month at age 71.
Zelenskyy later addressed U.S. senators before an initial procedural vote on a bipartisan bill imposing broad sanctions on Russian energy revenues.
Graham had promoted the legislation for more than a year and reached an agreement with the White House on revisions shortly before his death.
Some Democrats expressed concern about provisions that would expand Trump’s authority to impose tariffs on countries purchasing Russian energy.
The Senate advanced the legislation in a bipartisan vote, increasing pressure on the House of Representatives, where the measure faces greater divisions.
“This is the first step toward implementing Lindsey’s plans and undoubtedly a step toward peace,” Zelenskyy, who attended the vote, wrote on X.
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