In a surprise pledge delivered face-to-face at NATO’s summit, US President Donald Trump told Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington would grant Kyiv the “the right to make” Patriot air-defence missiles — a move aimed at easing the strain on Ukraine’s dwindling supply of the coveted interceptors.
“So one of the things we’re going to be talking about is we’re going to give a licence to you to make Patriots. That’s pretty cool, right. This way, you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough,” Mr Trump told Mr Zelensky.
“We haven’t informed the company of that yet, but that’ll work out all right.”
Ukraine has been struggling to shoot down Russian ballistic missile attacks as supplies of the crucial US-made Patriot interceptors run low.
Mr Trump argued that the intensified exchanges could paradoxically push the conflict toward a conclusion.
“It’s an escalation, but it’s also an escalation that can help lead to an end,” Mr Trump said.
The US president again insisted he believes both Mr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are looking for a pathway to stop the fighting.
“The president wants to get it done, and I believe that President Putin wants to get it done, and that should be a good combination,” he said.
On the battlefield, Russia’s edge in ballistic missiles has allowed it to exploit Ukraine’s limited Patriot stocks — and to keep Kyiv under mounting pressure, according to Ukrainian military analyst Sergiy Zgurets.
“This allows the adversary to use such attacks as a means of psychological pressure,” he told AFP.
Even if the licence becomes reality quickly, timelines for producing the Patriot — one of the world’s most sophisticated air defence missiles — suggest Ukraine may not see immediate relief.
According to the US Foreign Policy Research Institute, it would take up to 24 months to produce the air defence missile and 30 months to produce its engine.
Fresh Russian strikes on Ukraine
A warehouse was set on fire following a Russian strike on Kyiv
While leaders met and made promises, the war’s tempo did not ease. Overnight Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least seven people, as Ukraine’s army said it had hit several Russian tankers.
In Kyiv, residents were jolted by a first large blast shortly after midnight — and, unusually, it came even before the city’s air alert sirens sounded, a rare failure that rattled many in the capital.
That was followed by a barrage of several more explosions, AFP journalists in the city said.
One person was killed in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, having reported warehouses on fire after a missile strike.
Russia has hit the Ukrainian capital with several large deadly attacks over the last week – killing more than 50 people this month in a spate of ballistic missile and drone strikes.
At the NATO summit in Ankara, Mr Zelensky has been urging his allies to deliver ammunition for US-made Patriot air defence systems – the only thing that can stop Russia’s ultra-fast hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, a mother and daughter were killed in the southern region of Mykolaiv when Russian forces attacked with guided aerial bombs, a military spokesperson said.
Two people were killed in the northeastern Kharkiv region and another two in the frontline Kherson region in the south, officials said.
Ukraine also mounted its own strikes deep into Russia – attacks Kyiv calls fair retribution for the nightly barrages of its cities.
The Russian governor of the central Saratov region said one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack.
Ukraine has also upped its attacks on Russia’s so-called shadow fleet – ageing tankers that export its vital oil products, bringing in crucial revenue for Russia’s stuttering economy.
The commander of Kyiv’s drone forces said 21 Russian ships in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov had been hit over the last 72 hours.
Russia bans diesel exports until end of July
Russia banned diesel exports today to “stabilise” a worsening fuel crisis caused by weeks of intensifying Ukrainian strikes on energy infrastructure, with regions across the country experiencing shortages.
More than 90% of Russian regions have experienced fuel rationing or shortages since June, according to local media reports and statements from officials.
“A ban on diesel fuel exports went into effect today, which will allow for increased supplies to the domestic market,” Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said during a government meeting with President Vladimir Putin, adding that the measure was intended to “stabilise the situation”.
The government later released a statement that the ban will be in effect until 31 July.
“The decision was made to maintain stability in the domestic fuel market,” it said, adding that “the restrictions will not apply to diesel fuel exported from Russia under international inter-governmental agreements”.
