Trump moves to involve US firms in missile production in Europe and Ukraine
Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump plans to ask American defense companies to produce weapons under license in Europe and Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg notes that Ukraine needs air defense systems, particularly interceptor missiles, to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles. However, the problem is that such missiles can only be produced by the United States.
But given that the US has exhausted its stockpiles in Iran, and replenishing them will take time, Trump told allies at the G7 summit that he would consider granting licenses. That is, to allow missiles to be produced in Europe and Ukraine.
The relevant information was provided to the publication by officials speaking on condition of anonymity. At the same time, Trump himself also publicly commented on the matter.
"They would like to be able to do it, we’ll take a look at it," the US leader told journalists in response to a question about his plans at the G7 summit.
Weapons production in Ukraine
The G7 countries and the US agreed, following the summit, to issue licenses that would allow the production in Ukraine not only of air defense systems but also of long-range weapons.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Brussels on June 17 with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. They discussed work to strengthen Ukraine's defense and also spoke about obtaining licenses from the US for the production of air defense systems.
In addition to the in-person meeting at the G7 summit, Zelenskyy held a phone conversation on the evening of June 17 with US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. According to the Ukrainian leader, this call could change a lot.
