US has not decided on Patriot missile production license for Ukraine, State Department says

The United States has not yet made a final decision on granting Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptor missiles domestically, a State Department representative told Deutsche Welle on Sept. 23.

State Department representative Ian Bateson said discussions were still underway after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said President Donald Trump viewed the proposal positively during their meeting in New York.

“Trump did not say that it would happen,” Bateson said, adding that the outcome remained unclear because diplomatic talks were ongoing.

Zelenskyy said after meeting Trump on Sept. 22 that Ukraine had asked the US president to help accelerate the licensing process. He estimated that production in Ukraine could begin within a year to 18 months if an agreement is reached.

Trump said at a NATO summit in July that Washington would provide Ukraine with a license to produce Patriot interceptors. He later said the issue had not been decided and that negotiations were continuing.

Ukraine has repeatedly sought additional Patriot interceptors as it faces Russian ballistic missile attacks. Zelenskyy has said Ukraine received three times fewer missiles capable of intercepting ballistic threats this year than in 2025.