Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded for the US-made interceptors - the only weapon in Ukraine's arsenal that can shoot down ballistic projectiles.Follow us on GoogleUS President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alongside the NATO leaders summit at the Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)ByREUTERSJULY 8, 2026 17:11US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States will give a license to Ukraine for Patriot missiles, as he said both Russia and Ukraine want to see the war settled."We're going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool. This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough," Trump said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in Ankara."It's a defensive weapon, which I like better than an offensive weapon," Trump said.Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded for the US-made interceptors - the only weapon in Ukraine's arsenal that can shoot down ballistic projectiles, whose high velocity and steep flight path make them difficult to stop.He was expected to raise the issue with Trump during their meeting.Lockheed Martin’s Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) (credit: LOCKHEED MARTIN)Trump said pressure could be applied to companies to produce Patriot missiles. "We have great power over the companies, those companies that make the Patriot," he said."We haven't informed the company of that yet, but that'll work out all right. I'm sure they will be thrilled," he said.Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the interceptor missiles that go in the Patriot system.Russia launches third assault on Kyiv in one weekRussia fired ballistic missiles at Kyiv again overnight, officials said on Wednesday, a third attack on the Ukrainian capital in less than a week exploiting Ukraine's critical shortage of US-made air-defense interceptors.While Ukraine's air defenses intercepted 139 of the 169 drones during the overnight strikes on the country, they were again unable to down any of the five ballistic missiles used by Russia, air force data showed.Trump said both sides in the war would like to see it end, but Russia's Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky have both been "difficult.""We've settled a lot of wars, and this one is the one that I thought maybe would be the easiest, but Putin is a difficult character, and this guy's a difficult character," Trump said, referring to Zelensky, who was sitting next to him.Zelensky said he wanted to discuss "some very important details" with Trump."I'm sure you will do everything to stop this war," he told Trump.Moscow has stepped up its air war on Ukraine in recent months as its ground advances have largely stalled and Ukrainian attacks on its military logistics and oil industry triggered widespread fuel shortages.Follow us on Google