It was a dramatic departure from Trump’s more acerbic tone toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he once derided as ungrateful.
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ANKARA, Turkey — President Donald Trump heaped praise on Ukraine’s president and war effort Wednesday, speaking in unusually positive terms about Kyiv’s deep strikes inside Russia and appearing to grant one of Ukraine’s long-held requests: the ability to produce U.S.-designed Patriot air-defense missiles on Ukrainian soil.
Trump’s words on Ukraine were a dramatic departure from his tone during his first year in office, when he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ungrateful for U.S. help and accused him of “gambling with World War III.” Wednesday he spoke in admiring terms of Ukraine’s war effort and offered dramatic new assistance, first in a closed-door meeting with NATO leaders and then in a one-on-one with the Ukrainian leader.
Wednesday afternoon’s meeting was almost chummy by comparison with the earlier encounter.
Zelensky has “done an amazing job,” Trump told reporters before the pair’s bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit. “Look, he’s been very effective, and he’s had the best equipment because he’s had our equipment.”
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“We’re going to give a license to you to make Patriot missiles,” Trump said. “That’s pretty cool. This way, you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough. I said, ‘Make them yourself.’ We haven’t informed the company of that yet, but that’ll work out all right.”
For Zelensky, the issue is not abstract. Patriot systems have become one of Ukraine’s most prized defenses against Russian barrages, particularly ballistic missiles that can reach Ukrainian cities in minutes and leave civilians with little warning. They have been in short supply for years.
Kyiv has repeatedly pressed allies for more batteries and interceptors, warning that every shortage gives Moscow more room to terrorize apartment blocks, energy facilities and other civilian targets.
“As long as Patriot missiles remain in our allies’ stockpiles” instead of being handed to Ukraine, Zelensky said in a statement Monday, “Russia is only encouraged to keep ‘vanquishing’ residential buildings.”
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This is a developing story and will be updated.
