Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky [Getty Images]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky [Getty Images]

President Donald Trump said the United States would allow Ukraine to produce American-made Patriot air defense missiles domestically, signaling a markedly more pro-Kyiv stance as he also praised Ukraine's long-range drone strikes deep inside Russian territory.

Speaking in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Trump said after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that one of the items on the agenda for Thursday was "giving Ukraine a license to make Patriots and showing them how to manufacture them."

"Then they can't complain that we're not giving them enough air defense," Trump added. "I haven't told the manufacturer yet, but it'll work out fine, and once they get the license they'll be able to produce them pretty quickly."

The remarks came in direct response to Zelensky's appeal on Wednesday to NATO member states to help Ukraine secure a license for domestic Patriot missile production.

Trump also offered a positive assessment of Ukraine's recent expansion of drone strikes against military bases and oil refineries deep inside Russian territory.

"This is an escalation of the war, but at the same time it's an escalation that helps end the war," he said.

He went on to praise Zelensky, saying he "has done an incredible job and has been very effective," adding: "He now has the best equipment because we've been supporting him."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who attended the meeting, said "the dynamics of the war have been changing over the past few months" and that "Russia is having a harder time defending its own airspace."

Zelensky said he did not know on what terms Putin wanted to end the war, but that "the situation is changing now — Russia is losing the initiative on the battlefield, and we are shifting the center of the war from the ground to the sky."

The possibility of a direct summit between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders also came up during the meeting.

Trump said he had asked Putin where he would like to meet Zelensky, and that Putin replied "Moscow, if possible." "I told him that's not going to happen," Trump said.

"I'll be meeting with Putin and I'll be meeting with Zelensky, and I think there will be a positive outcome," Trump added. "I hope it happens soon."

Zelensky drew a laugh when Trump asked whether he could go to Moscow. "That's difficult — there are a lot of Ukrainian drones there," Zelensky quipped.

Trump also told reporters Wednesday that he planned to speak with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and offered to relay any questions journalists wanted to put to the Russian leader.

The Wall Street Journal said the meeting stood in sharp contrast to the bitter clashes between the two leaders shortly after Trump returned to the White House early last year, describing it as evidence that Trump had shifted to a far more pro-Ukraine position than before.


sjy@heraldcorp.com