Trump may allow Ukraine to produce "less sophisticated" version of Patriot missiles

US President Donald Trump has said that talks are currently underway on granting Ukraine a licence to produce "less sophisticated" Patriot missiles.

"We have a big stockpile of certain weapons. A lot of them are, you know, virtually unlimited… When it comes to the elite [weaponry], a lot of that was given to Ukraine, but we're making it very rapidly right now. We're building up our stockpile very fast," Trump commented to journalists.

However, Trump did not specify exactly which missiles are being discussed.

According to European Pravda, this could refer to the older version of the PAC-2 missile. These are the missiles that European countries such as Germany are currently sending to Ukraine from their own stockpiles.

Trump also said that plants in the US are currently producing "more Patriot missiles than we've ever made".

Talks on additional deliveries of Patriot missiles to Ukraine from the US have been ongoing for a long time, and Trump's position on the matter has shifted repeatedly.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US is in talks with Ukraine about granting licences to produce missiles for Patriot air defence systems.

EU member states have agreed to purchase €3.2 billion worth of US-made interceptor missiles for Ukraine's Patriot air defence systems under the EU's €90 billion loan.